
Class 

Book 

Copyright 1^^ 



CQEXRIGHT DEPOSili 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



E\\t i^ural Eext=i3ook Series 

Edited by L. H. BAILEY 

Carleton : The Small Grains. 

B. M. Duggar : The Physiology of Plant 
Production. 

J. F. Duggar : Southern Field Crops. 

Gay : Breeds of Live-Stock. 

Gay : Principles and Practice of Judging 
Live-Stock. 

Goff : Principles of Plant Culture. 

Guthrie : Book of Butter. 

Harper: Animal Husbandry for Schools. 

Harris and Stewart: Principles of Agron- 
omy. 

Hitchcock : Text-book of Grasses. 

Jeffery : Text-Book of Land Drainage. 

Jordan: Feeding of Animals. Revised. 

Livingston : Field Crop Production. 

Lyon: Soils and Fertilizers. 

Lyon, Fippin and Buckman : Soils, their 
Properties and Management. 

Mann: Beginnings in Agriculture. 

Montgomery : The Corn Crops. 

Morgan : Field Crops for the Cotton-Belt. 

Mumford: The Breeding of Animals. 

Piper : Forage Plants and their Culture. 

Sampson : Effective Farming. 

ITiom and Fisk : The Book of Cheese. 

Warren : The Elements of Agriculture. 

Warren : Farm Management. 

Wheeler : Manures and Fertilizers. 

White : Principles of Floriculture. 

Widtsoe : Principles of Irrigation Prac- 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



BY 



CHARLES THOM 

INVESTIGATOR IN CHEESE, FORMERLY AT CONNECTICUT 
AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE 



WALTER W. FISK 

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF DAIRY INDUSTRY (CHEESE-MAKING), 

NEW YORK STATE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE 

AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY 



Neto gork 

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
1918 

All rights reserved 



sv; 



^K 



COPYBIGHT, 1918, 

By the MACMILLAN COMPANY. 



Set up and electrotyped. Published July, 1918. 



Koriuoot) ^xt9i 

J. S. Cushing Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. 

Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. 

JUL 17 1918 



©Gi.A498759 



PREFACE 

Certain products we associate with the manufactures 
of the household, so familiar and of such long standing 
that we do not think of them as requiring investigation 
or any special support of science. The older ones of us 
look back on cheese as an ancient home product ; yet 
the old-fashioned hard strong kind has given place to 
many named varieties, some of them bearing little resem- 
blance to the product of the kitchen and the buttery. 
We have analyzed the processes ; discovered micro- 
organisms that hinder or help ; perfected devices and 
machines ; devised tests of many kinds ; studied the 
chemistry ; developed markets for standardized com- 
modities. Here is one of the old established farm in- 
dustries that within a generation has passed from the 
housewife and the home-made hand press to highly per- 
fected factory processes employing skilled service and 
handling milk by the many tons from whole communi- 
ties of cows. This is an example of the great changes 
in agricultural practice. Cheese-making is now a piece 
of applied science; many students in the colleges are 
studying the subject ; no one would think of undertaking 
it in the old way : for these reasons this book is written. 

This book is intended as a guide in the interpretation 
of the processes of making and handling a series of im- 
portant varieties of cheese. The kinds here considered 
are those made commercially in America, or so widely 
met in the trade that some knowledge of them is neces- 



VI PREFACE 

sary. The relation of cheese to milk and to its production 
and composition has been presented in so far as required 
for this purpose. The principles and practices under- 
lying all cheese-making have been brought together into 
a chapter on curd-making. A chapter on classification 
then brings together into synoptical form our knowledge 
of groups of varieties. These groups are then discussed 
separately. The problems of factory building, factory 
organization, buying and testing milk, and the proper 
marketing of cheese, are briefly discussed. 

Such a discussion should be useful to the student, to 
the beginner in cheese-making, as a reference book on 
many varieties in the hands of makers who specialize in 
single varieties, and to the housekeeper or teacher of 
domestic science. The material has been brought to- 
gether from the experience of the writers, supplemented 
by free use of the literature in several languages. Stand- 
ard references to this literature are added in the text. 

No introduction to the subject of cheese should fail 
to mention the work of J. H. Monrad, who has recently 
passed away. Mr. Monrad never collected his material 
into a single publication, but his contributions to cheese- 
making information, scattered widely in trade literature 
over a period of thirty years, form an encyclopedia of the 
subject. 

Bulletins of the Agricultural Experiment Stations and 
United States Department of Agriculture have been 
quoted extensively, with citation of the sources of the 
material. Personal assistance from Professor W. A. 
Stocking and other members of the Dairy Department of 
Cornell University, and C. F. Doane of the United States 
Department of Agriculture, is gladly acknowledged. 

Students cannot learn out of books to make cheese. 



PREFACE Vii 

They may, however, be aided in understanding the prob- 
lems from such study. To make cheese successfully they 
must have intimate personal touch with some person who 
knows cheese. Sympathetic relations with such a teacher 
day by day in the cheese-room are essential to suc- 
cess in making cheese which, at its best, is one of the 
most attractive of food-products. 

The Authors. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 

CHAPTER I 

PAOE9 

General Statement on Cheese 1-4 

Nature of cheese, 1 ; Cheese-making as an art, 2 ; 
Cheese-making as a science, 3 ; Problems in cheese- 
making, 4 ; History, 5. 

CHAPTER II 

The Milk in Its Relation to Cheese . . . 5-28 

Factors affecting tlie quality, 6 ; Chemical com- 
position, 7 ; Factors causing variation in composi- 
tion, 8 ; Milk constituents, 9 ; Water, 10; Fat, 11; 
Casein, 12 ; Milk-sugar, 13 ; Albumin, 14 ; Ash, 15 ; 
Enzymes, 16 ; The flavor of feeds eaten by the cow, 
17 ; Absorption of odors, 18 ; Effect of condition of 
the cow, 19; Bacteria in the milk, 20; Croups of 
bacteria in milk, 21 ; Acid fermentation of milk, 22; 
Bacterium lactis-acidi group, 2:5 ; Colon-aerogenes 
group, 24 ; Acid peptonizing group, 25 ; Bacillus 
bulgaricus group, 26 ; Acid cocci or weak acid- 
producers, 27 ; Peptonizing organisms, 28 ; Inert 
types, 29 ; Alkali-producing bacteria, 30 ; Butyric 
fermenting types, 31 ; Molds and yeasts, 32 ; Bacterial 
contamination of milk, 33 ; Germicidal effect of milk, 
34 ; Sources and control of bacteria in milk, 35 ; The 
cow, 36 ; Stable air, 37 ; The milker, 38 ; Utensils, 39 ; 
The factory, 40; The control of l)acteria, 41; Fer- 
mentation test, 42 ; The sediment test, 43. 

CHAPTER III 

Coagulating Materials 29-40 

Ferments, 44 ; Nature of rennet, 45 ; Preparation 
of rennet extract, 46 ; Pepsin, 47 ; Chemistry of 
Ix 



X TABLE OF CONTENTS 

PAGES 

curdling, 48 ; Use of acid, 49 ; Robertson's theory, 
50 ; Rennet curd, 51 ; Hammarsten's theory, 52 ; 
Duclaux theory, 53 ; Bang's theory, 54 ; Bosworth's 
theory, 55. 

CHAPTER IV 

Lactic Starters 41-54 

Acidifying organisms, 56 ; Starter, 57 ; Natural 
starter, 58; Commercial starter or pure cultures, 
59 ; Manufacturer's directions, 60 ; Selecting milk, 
61 ; Pasteurization, 62 ; Containers, 63 ; Adding 
cultures, 64; Cleanliness, 65; "Mother" starter 
or startoline, 66 ; Examining starter, 67 ; Second 
day's propagation, 68 ; Preparations of larger amount 
of starter, 69 ; Amount of mother starter to use, 70 ; 
Quahties, 71 ; How to carry the mother starter, 72 ; 
Starter score-cards, 73 ; Use of starter, 74 ; The 
amount of starter to use, 75 ; Starter lot-card, 76. 

CHAPTER V 

Curd-making • 55-80 

The composition of the milk, 77 ; Cheese color, 78 ; 
The acidity factor, 79 ; Acidity of milk when received, 
80 ; The acid test, 81 ; Rennet tests, 82 ; Marschall 
rennet test, 83 ; Comparison of acid and rennet 
test, 84 ; Control of acid, 85 ; Acidity and rennet 
action, 86 ; Acidity and expulsion of the whey, 87 ; 
Acidity in relation to cheese flavor, 88 ; Acidity in 
relation to body and texture of cheese, 89 ; Acidity 
in relation to cheese color, 90 ; Control of moisture, 
91 ; Relation of moisture to manufacture and 
quality, 92 ; Relation of moisture to acidity, 93 ; 
Setting temperature, 94; Strength of coagulating 
materials, 95 ; Amount of coagulating materials to 
use, 96 ; Method of adding rennet, 97 ; The curdling 
period, 98 ; Cutting or breaking the curd, 99 ; Curd 
knives, 100; Heating or "cooking," 101; Draining, 
102 ; Application to cheese, 103. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



XI 



CHAPTER VI 

Classification 

Basis of classification, 104 ; Processed cheeses, 
105 ; Whey cheeses, 106 ; Soft and hard cheeses, 107 ; 
Relation of moisture to classes, 108 ; Relation of 
heat to classes, 109. 



PAGES 

81-88 



CHAPTER Vn 

Cheeses with Sour-milk Flavor . . . . 

Skim series, 110; Cottage cheese. 111; Household 
practice, 112; Factory practice, 113; Buttermilk 
cheese, 114; Neufchatol group, 115; Domestic or 
American Neufchatel cheeses, 116; The factory, 
117; Cans, 118; Draining racks, 119; Cloths, 120 
Molding machinery, 121 ; Milk for Neufchatel, 122 
Starter, 123 ; Renneting or setting, 124 ; Draining 
125; Cooling Neufchatel, 126; Pressing, 127 
Working and salting Neufchatel, 128 ; Storage, 129 
Molding, 130; Skimmed-milk Neufchatel, 131 
Baker's cheese, 132 ; Domestic Neufchatel, 133 
Partially skim Neufchatel, 134 ; Cream cheese, 135 
Neufchatel specialties, 136 ; Gervais, 137 ; European 
forms occasionally imported, 138. 



89-110 



CHAPTER VIII 

Soft Cheeses Ripened by Mold .... 

Hand cheese and its allies, 139 ; Pennsylvania 
pot cheese, 140; Appetitost (Appetite cheese), 141; 
Ripened Neufchatel, French process, 142 ; The 
Camembert group, 143 ; Camembert cheese, 144 ; 
Description of Camembert, 145 ; Conditions of 
making and ripening, 146 ; Outline of making pro- 
cess, 147 ; Acidity, 148 ; Ripening the cheese, 149 ; 
Composition, 150; Factory, 151; Economic factors, 
152 ; French Brie, 153 ; Coulommiers, 154. 



111-133 



xii TABLE OF CONTENTS 



CHAPTER IX 

PAGES 

Soft Cheeses Ripened by Bacteria .... 134-148 
The Isigny group, 155 ; Raffine, 156 ; Lieder- 
kranz cheese, 157 ; Limburger cheese, 158 ; The 
milk, 159 ; Making the cheese, 160 ; Draining and 
salting, 161 ; Ripening, 162 ; Marketing and quahties 
of Limburger, 163 ; Yield and composition of Lim- 
burger, 164 ; Munster cheese, 165. 

CHAPTER X 

Semi-hard Cheeses 149-171 

The green mold group, 166 ; Roquefort cheese, 
167 ; Cow's milk or Faxons Roquefort, 168 ; Outline 
of making Roquefort, 169 ; Ripening of Roquefort, 
170; Gorgonzola, 171; Stilton cheese, 172; Gex, 
173 ; Bacterially-ripened series, 174 ; Brick cheese, 
175; Making of brick cheese, 176; Ripening brick 
cheese, 177; Quahties of brick cheese, 178 ; Composi- 
tion and yield, 179 ; Port du Salut cheese, 180. 

CHAPTER XI 

The Hard Cheeses 172-183 

The Danish group, 181 ; The Dutch group, 182 ; 
Edam cheese, 183 ; Method of manufacture, 184 ; 
Salting and curing Edam, 185; Equipment for 
making Edam cheese, 186; Quahties and yield of 
Edam cheese, 187; Gouda cheese, 188; Method of 
manufacture, 189; Equipment for Gouda cheese, 
190; Composition and yield, 191. 

CHAPTER XII 

Cheddar Cheese-making 184-221 

The lot-card, 192 ; The milk, 193 ; Ripening the 
milk, 194; Setting or coagulating, 195; Cutting, 
196 ; Heating or "cooking" the curd, 197 ; Removing 
the whey, 198 ; Hot-iron test, 199 ; Firmness of the 
curd, 200 ; Gathering the curd together, 201 ; 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



Xlll 



Matting or cheddaring, 202 ; Milling the curd, 203 ; 
Salting, 204 ; Hooping the curd, 205 ; Pressing the 
curd, 206 ; Dressing the cheese, 207 ; HandUng over- 
ripe and gassy milk, 208 ; Qualities of Cheddar 
cheese, 209. 

CHAPTER XIII 

Composition and Yield op Cheddar Cheese 

Composition of milk, whey and cheese, 210 ; 
Relations of fat to casein in normal milk, 211; 
Influence of fat in milk on yield of cheese, 212 ; Fat 
loss in cheese-making, 213 ; Effect of bacterial- 
content of milk on yield of cheese, 214 ; Factors 
affecting the moisture-content of Cheddar, 215 ; 
Variations of the Cheddar process, 216 ; Cheddar- 
type cheese from pasteurized milk, 217 ; Club cheese, 
218; The stirred-curd or granular process, 219; 
Cahfornia Jack cheese, 220 ; The washed-curd 
process, 221 ; English dairy cheese, 222 ; Pineapple 
cheese, 223 ; Leyden, 224 ; Cheddar cheese with 
pimientos, 225 ; Sage cheese, 226 ; Skimmed-milk 
cheese, 227 ; Full skimmed-milk Cheddar cheese, 
22.8 ; Half skimmed-milk Cheddar cheese, 229 ; 
Yield and qualities of skimmed-milk Cheddar cheese, 
230. 



222-246 



CHAPTER XIV 

Cheddar Cheese Ripening 

Fat, 231; Milk-sugar, 232; The salts, 233; 
Gases, 234 ; Casein or proteins, 235 ; Causes of 
ripening changes, 236 ; Action of the rennet extract, 
237 ; The action of the bacteria, 238 ; Conditions 
affecting the rate of cheese ripening, 239 ; The 
length of time, 240 ; The temperature of the curing- 
room, 241 ; Moisture-content of the cheese, 242 ; The 
size of the cheese, 243 ; The amount of salt used, 244 ; 
The amount of rennet extract, 245 ; The influence 
of acid, 246 ; Care of the cheese in the curing-room. 



247-275 



XIV TABLE OF CONTENTS 

PAGES 

247; Evaporation of moisture from the cheese 
during ripening, 248 ; Paraffining, 249 ; Shipping, 
250. Defects in Cheddar cheese: Defects in flavor, 
251 ; Feedy fiavors, 252 ; Acid flavors, 253 ; Sweet 
or fruity flavors, 254; Defects in body and texture, 
255 ; Loose or open texture, 256 ; Dry body, 257 ; 
Gassy textured cheese, 258 ; Acidy, pasty or soft 
body and texture, 259 ; Defects in color, 260 ; 
Defects in finish, 261. Cheddar cheese judging: Secur- 
ing the sample, 262 ; How to determine quality, 
263 ; Causes of variations in score, 264 ; The score- 
card, 265. 

CHAPTER XV 

The Swiss and Italian Groups 276-292 

Swiss cheese: The Swiss factory, 266; The milk, 
267 ; Rennet extract, 268 ; Starter, 269 ; The making 
process, 270 ; Curing Swiss, 271 ; Block Swiss, 272 ; .. 
Shipment, 273 ; Qualities of Swiss cheese, 274 ; 
Composition and yield, 275 ; The Italian group : 
Parmesan, 276 ; Regianito, 277. 

CHAPTER XVI 

Miscellaneous Varieties and By-products . 293-296 

Caciocavallo, 278 ; Sap sago, 279 ; Albumin 
cheese, 280 ; Mysost, Norwegian whey cheese, 281 ; 
Whey butter, 282. 

CHAPTER XVII 

Cheese Factory Construction, Equipment, Organi- 
zation . 297-310 

Locating the site, 283 ; The building, 284 ; Heat- 
ing plant, 285 ; Curing-rooms, 286 ; Light, 287 ; 
Ventilation, 288 ; Boiler-room, 289 ; whey tanks, 
290; Store-room, 291; The floors, 292; Arrange- 
ment of machinery and rooms, 293 ; Arrangements 
for cleanliness, 294 ; Equipment and supplies list, 295 ; 
Factory organization, 296. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS XV 



CHAPTER XVIII 

PAGES 

History and Development of the Cheese Industry 

IN America 311-326 

The factory system, 297 ; Introduction of factory 
system in Canada, 298 ; Introduction of cheddaring, 
299 ; Introduction of Swiss and Limburger, 300 ; 
Number and distribution of cheese factories, 301 ; 
Total production of cheese in the United States, 
302 ; Rank of the leading cheese-producing states, 
303 ; Exportation and importation of cheese by the 
United States, 304 ; Average yearly price of cheese, 
305 ; Canadian cheese statistics, 306 ; Introduction 
of cheese-making into new regions, 307. 

CHAPTER XIX 

Testing 327-342 

• The fat test, 308 ; SampUng the milk, 309 ; Adding 
the acid, 310; Centrifuging, 311 ; Reading the test, 
312 ; testing whey for fat, 313 ; testing cheese for 
fat, 314 ; Reading the test, 315 ; The Hart casein 
test, 316 ; Sohds in the milk, 317 ; the lactometer, 
318; Calculating the solids not fat in the milk, 319; 
Testing cheese for moisture, 320. 

CHAPTER XX 

Marketing 343-361 

Buying milk, 321 ; Cheese yield basis of buying 
milk, 322 ; Fat basis for payment of milk, 323 ; 
Weight basis or pooling method for payment of 
milk, 324 ; Fat-plus-two method for payment of 
milk, 325 ; Comparison of methods, 326 ; Laws 
governing the production and sale of milk, 327 ; 
Marketing of cheese, 328 ; Mercantile exchanges, 
329 ; Marketing perishable varieties, 330 ; Dis- 
tribution of price, 331 ; Standards, 332 ; Laws 
relating to cheese marketing, 333. 



XVI TABLE OF CONTENTS 



CHAPTER XXI 

PAGES 

Cheese in the Household . . . ". . 362-381 

Food value of cheese, 334 ; Digestibility of cheese, 
335 ; Cheese flavor, 336 ; Relation to health, 337 ; 
Cheese poisoning, 338 ; Proper place in the diet, 
339 ; Care of cheese, 340 ; Food value and price, 
341 ; Methods and recipes for using cheese, 342. 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

CHAPTER I 
GENERAL STATEMENT ON CHEESE 

Cheese is a solid or semi-solid protein food product 
manufactured from milk. Its solidity depends on the 
curdling or coagulation of part or all of the protein and 
the expulsion of the watery part or whey. The coag- 
ulum or curd so formed incloses part of the milk-serum 
(technically whey) or watery portion of the milk, part 
of the salts, part or all of the fat and an aliquot part 
of the milk-sugar. The loss in manufacture includes 
a small fraction of the protein and fat, the larger propor- 
tion of the water, salts and milk-sugar. 

1. Nature of cheese. — Milk of itself is an exceedingly 
perishable product. Cheese preserves the most important 
nutrient parts of the milk in condition for consumption 
over a much longer period. The duration of this period 
and the ripening and other changes taking place depend 
very closely on the composition of the freshly made 
cheese. There is an intimate relation between the water, 
fat, protein and salt-content of the newly made cheese 
and the ripening processes which produce the particular 
flavors of the product when it is ready for the consumer. 
This relation is essentially biological. A cheese contain- 

B 1 



2 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

ing 60 to 75 per cent of water, as in " cottage cheese " 
(the sour-milk cheese so widely made in the homes), must 
be eaten or lost in a very few days. Spoilage is very rapid. 
In contrast to this, the Italian Parmesan, with 30 to 32 
per cent of water, requires two to three years for proper 
ripening. 

The cheeses made from soured skim-milk probably 
represent the most ancient forms of cheese-making. 
Their origin is lost in antiquity. The makers of Roque- 
fort cheese cite passages from Pliny which they think 
refer to an early form of that product. It is certain that 
cheese in some form has been familiar to man throughout 
historic times. The technical literature of cheese-making 
is, however, essentially recent. The older literature may 
be cited to follow the historical changes in details of 
practice. 

2. Cheese-making as an art has been developed to 
high stages of perfection in widely separate localities. 
The best kno^\^l varieties of cheese bear the geographical 
names of the places of their origin. The practices of 
making and handling such cheeses have been developed 
in intimate relation to climate, local conditions and the 
habits of the people. So close has been this adjustment 
in some cases, that the removal of expert makers of such 
cheeses to new regions has resulted in total failure to 
transplant the industry. 

3. Cheese-making as a science has been a compara- 
tively recent development. It has been partly a nat- 
ural outgrowth of the desire of emigrant peoples to 
carry with them the arts of their ancestral home, partly 
the desire to manufacture at home the good things met 
in foreign travel. Its development has been largely 
coincident with the development of the agricultural school 



GENERAL STATEMENT ON CHEESE 3 

and the science of dairy biology. Even now we have but 
a Hmited knowledge of a few of the 500 or more varieties 
of cheese named in the literature. It is desirable to 
bring together the knowledge of underlying principles as 
far as they are knoA\Ti. 

No technical description of a cheese-handling process can 
replace experience. Descriptions of appearances and tex- 
tures of curd in terms definite enough to be understood by 
beginners have been found to be impossible. It is possible, 
however, to lay down principles and essentials of practice 
which are common to the industry and form the founda- 
tion for intelligent work. Cheese-making will be a science 
only as we depart from the mere repetition of a routine 
or rule-of-thumb practice and understand the underlying 
principles. 

4. Problems in cheese-making. — Any understanding 
of these problems calls for a working knowledge of the 
very complex series of factors involved. These include 
the chemical composition of the milk, the nature of 
rennet and character of its action under the conditions 
met in cheese-making, the nature of the micro-organisms 
in milk, and the methods of controlling them, their 
relation to acidity and to the ripening of the cheese. 
To these scientific demands must be added acquaintance 
with the technique of the whole milk industry, from its 
production and handling on the farm through the multi- 
plicity of details of factory installation and organization, 
to those intangible factors concerned with the texture, 
body, odor and taste of the varied products made from 
it. Some of these factors can be adequately described ; 
others have thus far been handed on from worker to 
worker but have baffled every effort at standardization 
or definition. 



4 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

5. History. — The recorded history of the common 
varieties of cheese is only fragmentary. Practices at 
one time merely local in origin followed the lines of 
emigration. Records of processes of manufacture were 
not kept. The continuance of a particular practice 
depended on the skill and memory of the emigrant, who 
called his cheese after the place of origin. Other names 
of the same kind were applied by the makers for selling 
purposes. The wddely known names were thus almost 
all originally geographical. Some of them, such as 
Gorgonzola, are used for cheeses not now made at the 
places whose names they bear. Naturally, this method 
of development has produced national groups of cheeses 
which have many common characteristics but differ in 
detail. The English cheeses form a typical group of 
this kind. 

Emigration to America carried English practices across 
the Atlantic. The story of cheese-making in America 
has been so closely linked with the development of the 
American Cheddar process that the historical aspects 
of the industry in this country are considered under that 
head in Chapter VIII. 



CHAPTER II 

THE MILK IN ITS RELATION TO CHEESE 

The opaque whitish Hquid, secreted by the mam- 
mary glands of female mammals for the nourishment 
of their young, is known as milk. The milk of the 
cow is the kind commonly used for cheese-making in 
America. 

6. Factors affecting the quality. — The process of 
cheese-making begins with dra^^■ing the milk from the 
udder. The care and treatment the milk receives, while 
being drawn, and its subsequent handling, have a decided 
influence on its qualities. The process of cheese-making 
is varied according to the qualities of the milk. There 
are five factors that influence the quality of the milk 
for cheese-making : (1) its chemical composition; (2) the 
flavor of feed eaten by the cow ; (3) the absorption of 
flavors and odors from the atmosphere ; (4) the health 
of the cow ; (5) the bacteria present. The first factor is 
dependent on the breed and individuality of the cow. 
The other four factors are almost entirely within the 
control of man. Of these factors, number five is of the 
most importance, and is the one most frequently neg- 
lected. 

7. Chemical composition. — The high, low and average 
composition of milk is approximately as follows : 

5 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

TABLE I 

Composition of Milk 





Water 
Per 
Cent 


Fat 
Per 
Cent 


Casein 
Per 
Cent 


Sugar 
Per 

Cent 


Albumin 
Per 
Cent 


Ash 
Per 

Cent 


High . . . 
Low .... 
Average . . 


88.90 

85.05 

87.47 


5.50 
3.00 
3.80 


3.00 
2.10 
2.50 


5.00 
4.60 
4.80 


.72 
.70 
.71 


.73 
.70 
.72 



8. Factors causing variation in composition. — The 
composition of cow's milk varies according to several 
factors. The composition of the milk of different breeds 
differs to such a degree that whole series of factories 
are found with lower or higher figures than these 
averages on account of dominant presence of particular 
kinds of cattle. 

The following table shows the usual effect of breed on 
fat and total solids of milk : 



TABLE II 

The Usual Effect of Breed of Cows on Fat and Total 
Solids of Milk 



Breed of Cows 



Jersey .... 
Guernsey . 
Shorthorn 
Ayrshire . 
Holstein-Friesian 




14.74 
14.70 
13.41 
12.72 
11.89 



THE MILK IN ITS RELATION TO CHEESE 7 

The figures^ in Tables I and II are compiled and aver- 
aged from a large number of analyses made at different 
agricultural experiment stations. 

This variation not only affects the fat, but all con- 
stituents of the milk. While there is a difference in the 
composition of the milk from cows of different breeds, 
there is almost as wide variation in the composition of 
the milk from single cows ^ of the same breed. With 
the same cow the stage of lactation causes a wide varia- 
tion in the composition of the milk.^ As the period of 
lactation advances, the milk increases in percentage of 
fat and other solids. 

9. Milk constituents. — From the standpoint of the 
cheese-maker, the significant constituents of milk are 

iQnt. Exp. Sta. Rept. 1890, pages 237-241. 

Maine Exp. Sta. Rept. 1890, part II, pages 52-57. 

Conn. (Storrs) Exp. Sta. Rept. 1886, pages 119-130. 

Vt. Exp. Sta. Rept. 1890, pages 97-100. 

Vt. E.xp. Sta. Rept. 1891, pages 61-74. 

N. Y. Exp. Sta. Rept. 1892, pages 299-392. 

N. Y. Exp. Sta. Rept. 1893, pages 39-162. 

Wis. Exp. Sta. Rept. 1890, pages 115-119. 

Conn. (Storrs) Exp. Sta. Rept. 1907, pages 152-156. 

N. Y. Exp. Sta. Rept. 1891, pages 139-142. 

N. Y. Exp. Sta. Rept. 1894, pages 31-86, 118-121. 

N. J. Exp. Sta. Rept. 1895, pages 136-137. 

Eekles, C. H., and R. H. Shaw. The influence of breed and 
individuality on the composition and properties of milk. Bur. 
An. Ind. Bui. 156, 1913. 

Eekles, C. H., and R. H. Shaw, Variations in the composition 
and properties of milk from the individual cow, U. S. Dept. 
Agr. Bur. An. Ind. Bui. 157, 1913. 

2 Morrow, G. A., and A. G. Manns, Analyses of milk from 
different cows, 111. Exp. Sta. Bui. 9, 1890. 

3 Eekles, C. H., and R. H. Shaw, The influence of the stage of 
lactation on the composition and properties of milk, U. S. 
Dept. Agr. Bur. An. Ind. Bui. 155, 1913. N. Y. Exp. Sta. 
Rept. 1892, pages 138-140. 



8 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

water, fat, casein, milk-sugar, all)iiiiiin, ash and enzymes. 
These will be discussed separately. 

10. Water. — The retention of the solids and the elim- 
ination of the water are among the chief considerations 
in cheese-making. Water forms 84 to 89 per cent of milk. 
Cheese-making calls for the reduction of this percentage 
to that typical of the particular variety of cheese desired 
with the least possible loss of milk solids. This final 
percentage ^■aries from 30 to 70 per cent with the variety 
of cheese. The water has two uses in the cheese : (1) It 
imparts smoothness and mellowness to the body of the 
cheese; (2) it furnishes suital)le conditions for the action 
of the ripening agents. To some extent the water may 
sui^plement or even replace fat in its effect on the texture 
of the cheese. If the cheese is pro])erly made, the water 
present is in such combination as to give no suggestion 
of a wet or " lcak>' " product. 

11. Fat. — 1^'at is present in the milk in the form of 
suspended small transparent globules (as an emulsion). 
These globides \ary in size with the breed and individ- 
uality of the cow and in color from a very light yellow 
to a deep yellow shade as sought in butter. Milk with 
small fat globules is jireferred for cheese-making, because 
these are not so easily lost in the process. ]\Iilk-fat is 
made up of several different compounds called glycerids/ 
which are formed by the union of an organic acid with 
glycerine as a base. 

Fat is important in cheese-making for two reasons: 
(1) Its influence on the yield of cheese; (2) its effect 

IN. Y. Exp. Sta. Ropt. 1891, pages 143-162, 316-318. 

Wis. Exp. Sta. Rept. 1890, pagos 238-247. 

Van Slyke, L. L., Conditions affecting the proportions of fat 
and protein in cow's milk. Jour. Am. Chcm. Soc, 30 (1908), 
no. 7, pages 1166-1186. 



THE MILK IN ITS RELATION TO CHEESE 9 

on the quality of the cheese. Many of the details of 
cheese-making processes have been developed to prevent 
the loss of fat in manufacture. The yield of cheese is 
almost directly in proportion to the amount of fat in the 
milk; nevertheless, because the solids not fat do not in- 
crease exactly in proportion to the fat, the cheese yield 
is not exactly in proportion to the fat. The fat, however, 
is a fjjood index of the cheese-producing power of the milk. 
12. Casein. — Cheese-making is possible because of 
the peculiar properties of casein. This is the fundamental 
substance of cheese-making because it has the capacity 
to coagulate or curdle under the action of acid and rennet 
enzymes. Casein is an extremely complex organic com- 
pound.^ Authorities disagree regarding its exact com- 
position, but it contains varying amounts of carbon, 
oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, i)hosphorus and sulfur, and 
it usually is combined with some form of lime or cal- 
cium phosphate. It belongs to the general class of 
nitrogen-containing compounds called proteins. It is 
present in milk in the form of extremely minute gelat- 
inous particles in suspension. Casein is insoluble in 
water and dilute acids. The acids, when added, cause 
a heavy, white, more or less flocculent precipitate. 
Rennet (Chapter III) causes the casein to coagulate 
(curdle), forming a jelly-like mass called curd, which is 
the basis of manufacture in most types of cheese. In 

1 Van Slyke, L. L., and A. W. Bosworth, Composition and 
properties of some casein and paracasein compounds and their 
relations to cheese, N. Y. Exp. Sta. Tech. Bui. 26, 1912. 

Forbes, E. B., and M. H. Keith, A review of the litera- 
ture of phosphorus compounds in animal metabolism, Ohio 
Exp. Sta. Tech. Bui. .5, pages 32-36, 42-45. 

Van Slyke, L. L., and A. W. Bosworth, Condition of casein 
and salts in milk, N. Y. Exp. Sta. Tech. Bui. 39. 



10 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

the formation of this coagulum (curd), the fat is imprisoned 
and held. The casein compounds in the curd hold the 
moisture and give firmness and solidity of body to the 
cheese. Casein contains the protein materials in which 
important ripening changes take place. These changes 
render the casein more soluble, and are thought to be 
the source of certain characteristic cheese flavors. 

13. Milk-sugar. — Milk-sugar (lactose) is present in 
solution in the watery part of the milk. It forms on the 
average about 5 per cent of cow's milk. Since it is in 
solution, cheese retains the aliquot part of the total 
represented by the water-content of the cheese, plus any 
part of the sugar which has entered into combination with 
the milk solids during the souring process. The larger 
part of the lactose passes off with the whey. Lactose^ 
is attacked by the lactic-acid bacteria and by them is 
changed to lactic acid. Cheeses in which this souring 
process goes on quickly, soon contain a large enough 
percentage of acid to check the rotting of the cheese by 
decay organisms. Without this souring, most varieties 
of cheese will begin to spoil quickly. For each variety 
there is a proper balance between the souring, which 
interrupts the growth of many kinds of putrefactive 
bacteria, and the development of the forms which are 
essential to proper ripening. 

14. Albumin. — This is a form of protein which is in 
solution in the milk. Albumin forms about 0.7 per 
cent of cow's milk. It is not coagulated by rennet. Most 
rennet cheeses, therefore, retain only that portion of the 
total albumin held in solution in the water retained, as 
in the case of milk-sugar. Albumin is coagulated by heat, 
forming a film or membrane upon the surface. There 

1 Wis. Exp. Sta. Rept. 1901, pages 162-166. 



THE MILK IN ITS RELATION TO CHEESE 11 

are certain kinds of cheese, such as Ricotte, made by the 
recovery of albumin by heating. 

15. Ash. — The ash or mineral constituents make up 
about 0.7 per cent of cow's milk. This total includes 
very small amounts of a great many substances. The 
exact form of some of the substances is still unknown. 
Of these salts, the calcium or lime and phosphorus salts 
are most important in cheese-making. They are par- 
tially or completely precipitated by pasteurization. 
After such precipitation rennet fails to act ^ or acts very 
slowl}^ ; hence pasteurized milk cannot be used for making 
rennet cheese unless the lost salts are replaced, or the 
condition of the casein is changed by the addition of some 
substance, before curdling is attempted. 

16. Enzymes. — Milk also contains enzymes. These 
are chemical ferments secreted by the udder. They have 
the power to produce changes in organic compounds with- 
out themselves undergoing any change. Minute amounts 
of several enzymes are found in milk as follows : Diastase, 
galactase, lipase, catalase, peroxidase and reductase. 
Just what part they play in cheese-making is not definitely 
known. 

17. The flavor of feeds eaten by the cow, — Unde- 
sirable flavors in the milk are due many times to the use 
of feed with very pronounced flavors. The most common 
of these feeds are onions, garlic, turnips, cabbage, de- 
cayed ensilage, various weeds and the like. These im- 
desirable flavors reach the milk because the substances 
are volatile and are able to pass through the tissues of 
the animal. While feed containing these flavors is "being 
digested, these volatile substances are not only present 

^ Sammis, J. L., and A. T. Bruhn, The manufacture of cheese 
from pasteurized milk, Wis. Exp. Sta. Research Bui. 27, 1912. 



12 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

in the milk, but in all the tissues of the animal. By the 
time the process of digestion is completed, the volatile 
flavors have largely passed away. Therefore, if the times 
of milking and feeding are properly regulated, a dairy-man 
may feed considerable quantities of strong-flavored prod- 
ucts, such as turnip, cabbage and others, without any 
appreciable effect on the flavor of the milk. To ac- 
complish this successfully, the cows should be fed im- 
mediately before or immediately after milking, preferably 
after milking. This allows time for the digestive process 
to take place and for the volatile substances to disappear. 
If, however, milking is performed three or four hours 
after feeding, these volatile substances are present in 
the milk and flavor it.^ 

In the case of those plants which grow wild in the 
pasture, and to which the cows have continued access, 
it is more difficult to prevent bad flavor in the milk. 
The cows may be allowed to graze for a short time only, 
and that immediately after milking, without affecting 
the flavor of the milk. This will make it necessary to 
supplement the pasture with dry feed, or to have another 
pasture where these undesirable plants do not grow. 

Undesirable flavors are usually noticeable in the milk 
when the cows are turned out to pasture for the first 
time in the spring; and when they are pastured on rank 
fall feed, such as second growth clover. 

18. Absorption of odors. — Milk, especially when 
warm, possesses a remarkable ability to absorb and 
retain odors from the surrounding atmosphere. ^ For 

1 Baer, U. S., and W. L. Carlyle, Quality of cheese as affected 
by food. Wis. Exp. Sta. Bui. lis, 1904. 

2 King, F. H., and E. H. Farrington, Milk odor as affected 
by silage, Wis. Exp. Sta. Bui. 59, 1897. 



THE MILK IN ITS RELATION TO CHEESE 13 

this reason, the milk should be handled only in places 
free from such odor. Some of the common sources of 
these undesirable odors are bad-smelling stables, strong- 
smelling feeds in the stable, dirty cows, aerating milk 
near hog-pens, barn-yards and swill barrels. The only 
way to prevent these undesirable flavors and odors is 
not to expose the milk to them. The safest policy 
is to remove the source of the odor. 

19. Effect of condition of the cow. — Any factor which 
affects the cow is reflected in the composition and physi- 
ological character of the milk. (1) Colostrum. Milk 
secreted just before or just after parturition is different 
in physical properties and chemical composition from that 
secreted at any other time during the lactation period. 
This milk is known as colostrum. It is considered unfit 
for human food, either as milk or in products manu- 
factured from the milk. Most states ^ consider colostrum 
adulterated milk, and prohibit the sale of the product 
for fifteen days preceding and for five days after par- 
turition. (2) Disease. When disease is detected in 
the cow, the milk should at once be discarded as human 
food. Some diseases are common both to the cow and 
to man, such as tuberculosis, foot-and-mouth disease. 
If such diseases are present in the cow, the milk may act 
as a carrier to man. Digestive disorders of any sort in 
the cow are frequently accompanied by undesirable 
flavors in the milk. These are not thought to be due 
to the feed, but to the abnormal condition of the cow. 
When the normal condition is restored, these undesirable 
flavors disappear. 

1 N. Y. Agricultural Law, 1913, section 30. 
Mich. Agricultural Law, 1915, section 77. 
Wis. Agricultural Law, 1913, section 4601. 



14 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

20. Bacteria in the milk. — Bacteria are microscopic 
unicellular plants, without chlorophyll. Besides bacteria, 
there are other forms of the lower orders of plants found 
in milk, such as yeasts and molds. While the bacteria 
are normally the more important, frequently yeasts and 
molds produce significant changes in milk and other 
dairy products. Bacteria are very widely distributed 
throughout nature. They are so small that they may 
easily float in the air or on particles of dust. Many 
groups of bacteria are so resistant to adverse conditions 
of growth that they may be present in a dormant or spore 
stage, and, therefore, not be easily recognized ; when 
suitable environments for growth are again produced, 
development begins at once. They are found in all 
surface water, in the earth and upon all organic matter. 
There are a great many different groups of bacteria ; 
some are beneficial, and some are harmful. As they are 
so small, it is difficult to differentiate between the bene- 
ficial and harmful kinds, except by the results produced, 
or by a careful study in an especially equipped laboratory. 
The bacteria multiply very rapidly. This is brought 
about by fission ; that is, the cell-walls are drawn in at 
one place around the cell, and when the walls unite at the 
center, the cell is divided. There are then two bacteria. 
In some cases, division takes place in twenty to thirty 
minutes. Like other plants, they are very sensitive to 
food supply, to temperature and to moisture, as con- 
ditions of growth. Inasmuch as the bacteria are plant 
cells, they must absorb their food from materials in 
solution. They may live on solid substances, but the 
food elements must be rendered soluble before they can 
be used. Most bacteria prefer a neutral or slightly acid 
medium for growth, rather than an alkaline reaction. 



THE MILK IN ITS RELATION TO CHEESE 15 

Ordinary milk makes a very favorable medium for the 
growth of bacteria, because it is an adequate and easily 
available food supply. 

In milk, certain groups of bacteria are commonly 
present, but many others which happen to get into it 
live and multiply rapidly. A favorable temperature is 
very necessary for such organisms to multiply. There is 
a range of temperature, more or less wide, at which 
each group of bacteria grows and multiplies with the 
greatest rapidity. This range varies with the different 
groups, but most of them find temperatures between 
75° F. and 95° F. the most favorable for growth. Ex- 
cessive heat kills the bacteria. Low temperatures stop 
growth, but kill few if any bacteria. Temperatures of 
50° F. and lower retard the growth of most forms of 
bacteria found commonly in milk. Many forms will 
slowly develop, however, below 50° and some growth 
will occur down to the freezing point. INIilk held at 50° 
F. or lower will remain in good condition long enough 
to be handled without injury to quality until received in 
the cheese factory. In the place of seeds, some groups 
of bacteria form spores. The spores are exceedingly 
resistant to unfavorable conditions of growth, such 
as heat, cold, drying, food supply and even chemical 
agents. This property makes it difficult to destroy such 
bacteria. 

21. Groups of bacteria in milk. — Milk when first 
drawn usually shows an amphoteric reaction; that is, 
it will give the acid and alkaline reactions with litmus 
paper. Under normal conditions, milk soon begins to 
undergo changes, due to the bacteria. Changes pro- 
duced in this way are called " fermentations " ; the 
agents causing them, " ferments." Normally the acid 



16 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

fermentation takes place first, and later other fermenta- 
tions or changes begin, which, after a time, so decom- 
pose the milk that it will not be suitable for cheese- 
making or human consumption. 

The following grouping of the organisms in milk is 
based on their effects on the milk itself ^ : 

I. Acid-producing types. 
II. Peptonizing types. 

III. Inert types. 

IV. Alkali-producing types. 
V. Butyric fermenting types. 

Each type of bacteria produces more or less specific 
changes in the milk. As a general rule, the predominance 
of one of these types is an aid in the interpretation of the 
quality of the product at the time of analysis, such as 
the age, the temperature at which it has been held, the 
conditions under which it was produced and, in some 
cases, the general source of the contamination. The 
reaction due to certain bacteria is utilized in the manu- 
facture and handling of dairy products ; other groups 
have deleterious effects. (See Fig. 2.) 

1 Conn. (Storrs) Exp. Sta. Kept. 1899, pages 13-68. 

Conn. (Storrs) Exp. Sta. Rept. 190.3, pages 33-98. 

Conn. (Storrs) Exp. Sta. Rept. 1904, pages 27-88. 

Esten, W. M., and C. J. Mason, Sources of bacteria in milk. 
Conn. (Storrs) Exp. Sta. Bui. 51, 1908. 

Rogers, L. A., and B. J. Davis, Methods of classifying the 
lactic acid bacteria, U. S. Dept. Agr. Bur. An. Ind. Bui. 154, 
1912. 

Bergey, D. H., The colon-aerogenes group of bacteria. Jour. 
Med. Research, Boston, Vol. XIX, pages 175-200, 1908. 

Conn, H. W., Classification of dairy bacteria, Conn. (Storrs) 
Exp. Sta. Rept. 1906. 

Rogers, L. A., Bacteria in milk, U. S. Dept. Agr., Farmers' 
Bui. 490, 1912. 



THE MILK IN ITS RELATION TO CHEESE 17 

22. Acid fermentation of milk. — By far the most 
common and important fermentation taking place in 
milk is due to the action of the lactic acid-forming bacteria 
on the milk-sugar or lactose. The bacteria that bring 
about this fermentation may be divided into several 
groups on the basis of their morphology, proteolytic 
activity, gas production, temperature adaptation and 




Fig. 2. — Effect of different fermentations of milk: U, Curd pitted with 
gas holes ; G and 0, gassy curds which float ; K, smooth, solid 
desirable curd. 

production of substances other than lactic acid. The 
larger number of organisms producing lactic acid in 
milk also produce other organic acids in greater or less 
abundance. Inasmuch as lactic acid is the principal sub- 
stance produced, they are called lactic acid organisms. 
This group contains different kinds of organisms which 
may be subdivided into small groups as follows : 

(a) Bacterium lactis-acidi group. 

(b) Bacterium colon-aerogenes group. 



18 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

(c) Acid peptonizing group. 

{d) Bacillus bulgaricus group. 

(e) Acid cocci or weak acid-producing group. 

23. Bacterium lactis-acidi group. — There are many 
strains or varieties in this group which are closely related 
in their activities. They are universally present in milk 
and are commonly the greatest causal agent in its souring. 
They are widely distributed in nature. At a temperature 
of 65° F. to 95° F., these bacteria grow and multiply very 
rapidly; at 70° F. (approximately 20° C.) these forms 
usually outgrow all others. The total amount of acid 
produced in milk by these organisms varies from 0.6 of 
one per cent to 1 per cent acid calculated as pure 
lactic acid. These forms coagulate milk to a smooth 
curd of uniform consistency. In addition to the lactic 
acid, there are produced traces of acetic, succinic, formic 
and proprionic acids, traces of certain alcohols, alde- 
hydes and esters. Substances other than lactic acid 
are not produced by organisms of this group to such 
an extent as to impart undesirable flavors to the milk. 
The action of this group on the milk proteins is very 
slight. They produce no visible sign of peptoniza- 
tion. The B. lactis-acidi group of organisms are essential 
to the production of the initial acidity necessary in most 
types of cheese. The practical culture and utilization 
of them for this purpose under factory conditions are 
discussed in Chapter IV, entitled " Lactic Starters." 

24. Colon-aerogenes group. — This group takes its 
name from a typical species, Bacterium coli communis, 
which is a normal inhabitant of the intestines of man 
and animals, and from Bacterium coli aerogcues, which 
is similar in many respects to B. coli communis. The 



THE MILK IN ITS RELATION TO CHEESE 19 

initial presence of these bacteria in milk is indicative of 
fecal contamination or unclean conditions of production. 
These organisms, however, grow and develop in milk 
very rapidly at high temperatures of handling. The 
total acidity produced by these forms is less than that by 
the Bacterium lactis-acidi group. Of the acid produced, 
less than 30 per cent is lactic acid ; the other acids are 
formic, acetic, proprionic and succinic. The large per- 
centage of these acids, with comparatively large amounts 
of certain alcohols, aldehydes and esters, invariably im- 
part undesirable flavors and odors to the milk. Mem- 
bers of this group uniformly ferment the lactose with the 
production of the gases, carbon dioxide and hydrogen. 
The milk is coagulated into a lumpy curd, containing gas 
pockets. 

25. Acid peptonizing group. — These are often as- 
sociated with colon organisms. The group includes 
those bacteria which coagulate milk with an acid curd 
and subsequently partly digest it. They grow and mul- 
tiply rapidly at a temperature between 65° and 98° F. 
They impart undesirable flavors and odors to the milk, 
which appear to be due to the formation of acids other 
than lactic acid, and to action on the milk proteins. 

26. Bacillus bulgaricus group. — These organisms grow 
best at a temperature of 105° to 115° F. They will de- 
velop at lower temperatures, but not so rapidly. They 
survive heating to 135° F. without loss of vigor, as occurs 
in Swiss cheese-making. They produce from 1 to 4 per 
cent of acid in milk, which is practically all lactic acid. 
They do not produce gas. They impart no undesirable 
flavors to the milk. 

27. Acid cocci or weak acid-producers. — This group 
of organisms is not very well defined. It consists mostly 



20 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

of coccus forms, commonly found in the air and in the 
udder. Their presence in the milk may indicate direct 
udder contamination. These are regarded as of little 
importance, unless in very large number, and they 
have been only partially studied. They produce little or 
no lactic acid, and small amounts of iacetic, proprionic, 
butyric and cai)roic acids. These forms rarely create 
enough acid to coagulate milk. 

28. Peptonizing organisms. — This group includes all 
bacteria which have a peptonizing eft'ect on the milk. 
It includes the acid peptonizing organisms, although 
they are of primary importance in the acid type of bac- 
teria, because the acid-producing power is greater than 
the peptonizing power. Some of the specific organisms 
in this class are Bacillus subtilis, Bacterium prodigiosus and 
Bartrriion liqurfncicns. These are commonly found in 
soil water and in fecal material. The presence of these 
organisms denotes contamination from such sources. 

29. Inert types. — As the name indicates, these are 
organisms not known to have an appreciable efi'ect 
on milk. The ordinary tests fail to connect them with 
imi)()rtant })rocesses ; hence they appear to feed upon, 
but not to affect the milk in any serious way. ]\Iilk 
ordinarily contains more or less of these organisms, but 
no i)articular significance is attached to their presence. 

30. Alkali-producing bacteria. — This group of organ- 
isms has only recently been studied in relation to its 
action on milk. Investigators still disagree as to the 
usual ])ercentage in the normal milk flora. Their pres- 
ence in milk has been considered to be relatively un- 
important. 

31. Butyric fermenting types. — Organisms causing 
butyric fermentation may be present in the milk, but 



THE MILK IN ITS RELATION TO CHEESE 21 

seldom become acti^'e, because they are commonly an- 
aerobic and so will not develop in milk kept under ordinary 
conditions, and the rapid growth of the lactic acid-forming 
bacteria prevents their growth. These organisms act 
on the milk-fat, decomposing it. Butyric acid fermenta- 
tions are more common in old butter and cheese. In 
these, the fermentation causes a rancid flavor. 

32. Molds and yeasts. — The cattle feed and the air 
of the barn always contain considerable numbers of yeasts 
and mold spores. Yeasts have been foiuid by Hastings ^ 
to cause an objectiona})le fermentation in Wisconsin 
cheese. No further study of this group as factors in 
cheese-handling has been reported. Mold spores, es- 
pecially those of the blue or green molds (Penicillum sp.) 
and the black molds (Mucors), are always abundant 
in milk. These spores are carried into all cheeses made 
from unpasteurized milk, in numbers sufficient to cover 
the cheeses with mold if they are permitted to grow. 
Pasteurization '^ kills most of them. The border-line 
series commonly referred to as the streptothrix-acti- 
nomyces group are also very abundant in all forage and 
are carried in large numbers into all milk and its products. 

33. Bacterial contamination of milk. — When drawn 
from the cow, milk is seldom if ever sterile. Organisms 
usually work their way from the tip of the teat into the 
udder and multi])ly there. The fore milk usuall}' con- 
tains more organisms than does that drawn later. Most 
of the bacterial contamination of the milk is due to the 
handling after it is drawn from the cow. 

^ Hastings, Vj. G., Distribution of lactose-fcrmoiiting yeasts 
in dairy products, Wis. Exp. Sta. Rept. 23, pages 107-115. 

2 Thom, C, and S. H. Ayers, Effect of pasteurization upon 
mold spores, Jour. Agr. Research 6 (1916), no. 4, pages 153-156. 



22 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

34. Germicidal effect of milk. — Authorities agree 
that when a bacterial examination of the milk is made, 
hour by hour, beginning as soon as it is drawn from the 
cow, there is no increase in the number of organisms for 
a period of several hours at first, but an actual reduction 
not infrequently takes place. This is called the " germi- 
cidal " ^ property of milk. The lower the temperature 
of the milk, the longer and less pronounced is the germi- 
cidal action ; the higher the temperature, the shorter 
and more pronounced is tliis action. 

This is explained as either: (1) a period of selection 
within which types of bacteria entering by accident and 
unada{)ted for growth die oft' ; or (2) an actual weak anti- 
septic power in the milk-serum itself ; or (3) the forming 
of clusters by the bacteria and so reducing the count. 

In working on a small scale or on an experimental 
basis, this property at times introduces a factor of 
difficulty or error which is not to be lost sight of in the 
selection of the milk for such purposes. 

35. Sources and control of bacteria in milk. — Most 
of the bacterial infection of milk is due to lack of care 
in handling. Some of the common sources ^ of con- 
tamination are : the air in the stable ; the cow's body ; 
the milker; the utensils; the method of handling the 
milk after it is drawn from the cow ; unclean cheese 
factory conditions. 

1 Hiinziker, O. F., Germicidal action of milk, N. Y. (Cornell) 
Exp. Sta. Bui. 197. 

Stocking, W. A., Germicidal action of milk. Conn. (Storrs) 
Exp. Sta. Bui. 37, 1905. 

U. S. Treasury Dept., Hygienic Laboratory, Bui. 41, Milk 
and its relation to the public health, 1908, also revised as Bui. 
56, 1909. 

2 U. S. Dept. Agr., Farmers' Bui. ()02, Dairy Division, Pro- 
duction of clean milk, 1914. 

Lauder, A., and A. Cunningham, Some factors affecting the 



THE MILK IN ITS RELATION TO CHEESE 23 

Since bacteria cause various kinds of fermentation, not 
only in the milk but in the products manufactured from 
it, the question of their control is of prime importance. 
There are two ways in which the bacterial growth in milk 
used for cheese-making may be controlled: (1) pre- 
vention of infection ; (2) the retardation of their develop- 
ment when present. The former is accomplished by strict 
cleanliness, the latter by adequate cooling. 

36. The cow. — The body of the cow may be a source 
of bacterial contamination. Bacteria adhere to the hair 
of the animal, and to the scales of the skin, and during 
the process of milking these are very liable to fall into 
the milk. To prevent this, the cow should be curried to 
remove all loose material and hair. Just before milk- 
ing, the udder and flank should be wiped with a damp 
cloth ; this removes some of the material, and causes the 
remainder to adhere to the cow. 

37. Stable air. — If the air of the stable is not clean, 
it will be a source of contamination. Particles of dust 
floating in the air carry more or less bacteria, and these 
fall into the milk during the process of milking. To 

bacteriological content of milk, Edinburgh and East of Scotland 
Coll. of Agr. Kept. XXVIII, 1913. 

Prucha, M. J., and H. M. Weeter, Germ content of milk, 
111. Exp. Sta. Bui. 199, 1917. 

Harding, H. A., et al., The effect of certain dairy opera- 
tions upon the germ content of milk, N. Y. Exp. Sta. Bui. 
365, 1913. 

Eraser, W. J., Sources of bacteria in milk, 111. Exp. Sta. Bui. 
91, 1903. 

Frandsen, .1. H., Care of milk and cream on the farm, Neb. 
Exp. Sta. Bui. 133, 1912. 

Conn, H. W., The care and handling of milk, Conn. (Storrs) 
Exp. Sta. Bui. 26, 1903. 

Stocking, W. A., Jr., Quality of milk as affected by certain 
dairy operations. Conn. (Storrs) Exp. Sta. Bui. 42, 1906. 



24 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

keep the stable air free from dust at milking time, all 
operations which stir up dust, such as feeding, brushing 
the cows, cleaning the floor, should be practiced after 
milking or long enough before so that the dust will have 
settled. It is a good plan to close the doors and to 
sprinkle the floor just before milking. 

38. The milker himself may be a source of contamina- 
tion. He should be clean and .wear clean clothing. The 
hands should not be wet with milk during milking. 

39. Utensils. — The utensils are an important source 
of biU'terial contamination. The bacteria lodge in the 




Fig. 3. — Types of small-top milk pails. 

seams and corners unless these are well-flushed with solder. 
From these seams they are not easily removed. When 
fresh warm milk is placed into such utensils, the bacteria 
begin to grow and multiply. All utensils with which 
milk comes in contact should first be rinsed with 
cold water and then thoroughly washed and finally 
scalded with boiling water, and drained or blown absolutely 
dry. They should then be placed in an atmosphere 
free from dust until wanted for use again. If an aerator 
is used, this should be operated in pure air, free from 
odors and dust. One of the greatest sources of bacterial 



THE MILK IN ITS RELATION TO CHEESE '25 

contamination of cheese milk is the use of the milk-cans 
to return whey to the farms for pig feed. Frequently, 
sour whey is left in the cans until ready to feed. These 
cans are then not properly washed and scalded. The 
practice of pasteurizing the whey at the cheese factory 
is a great help in preventing this source of infection and 
the spreading of disease. 

The use of a small-top milk pail ^ is to be especially 
recommended in preventing bacterial contamination. 
Because of the small opening, bacteria cannot easily fall 
into the milk in as large numbers as when the whole top 
of the pail is open. (See Fig. 3.) 

If a milking machine^ is used, great care must be 
exercised to see that all parts that come in contact 
with the milk are cleaned after each milking, and then 
put in a clean place until ready to use again. 

40. The factory. — Another source of contamination 
is the cheese factory itself. The cheese-maker should 
keep his factory in the cleanest condition possible, not 
only because of the effect on the milk itself, but as a stim- 
ulus for the producers to follow his example. All doors 
and windows in the factory should be screened to keep 
out flies. 

41. The control of bacteria. — If, in spite of preven- 
tive measures, bacteria get into the milk, their growth 
can be retarded by controlling the temperature. If the 
temperature of the milk, as soon as drawn, can be reduced 

1 Harding, H. A., J. K. Wilson and G. A. Smith, Tests of 
covered milk pails, N. Y. Exp. Sta. Bui. ,326, 1910. 

Stocking, W. A., Tests of covered milk pails. Conn. (Storrs) 
Exp. Sta. Bui. 48, 1907. 

- Wing, L. W., Milking machines ; their sterilization and their 
efficiency in producing clean milk, N. Y. (Cornell) Exp. Sta. 
Circ. 18, 1913. 



26 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

below that at which the bacteria grow and multiply 
rapidly, it will retard their development. In general, 
all milk should be cooled to 50° F. or below. In cooling 
the milk, it should not be exposed to dust or odors. One 
of the best methods of cooling is to set the can containing 
the milk into a tub of cold running water, and then stir. 
If running water is not available, cold well-water ^ may be 
used, but the water should be changed several times. 
If the milk is not stirred during the cooling process, it 
will not cool so rapidly, because the layer of milk next 
the can will become cold and act as an insulator to the 
remainder in the center of the can. 

One way to destroy many of the bacteria in milk is by 
pasteurization. This consists in heating the milk to 
such a degree that the bacteria are killed, and then quickly 
cooling it. After pasteurization, the milk is so changed 
that some kinds of cheese cannot be made successfully. 

42. Fermentation test. — When a cheese-maker is 
having trouble with gas in his cheese, or bad flavors, he 
can generally locate the source of difficulty. This can 
be done by making a small amount of cheese from each 
patron's milk, called a fermentation test." Pint or 
quart fruit jars or milk bottles make suitable containers. 
They should be thoroughly washed and scalded, to be 
sure they are clean and sterile, and then covered to pre- 
vent contamination. As the milk is delivered to the 
factory, a sample is taken of each patron's milk. The best 
way to secure the sample is to dip the sterile jar in the 
can of milk as delivered and fill two-thirds full of milk. 

iRuddiek, J. A., and G. H. Barr, The cooling of milk for 
cheese making, Ottawa Dept. of Agr. Bui. 22, 1910. 

2 Wis. Exp. Sta. Rept. 189.5, pages 14-150, Fermentation 
test for gas-producing bacteria in milk. This is commonly 
called the Wisconsin curd test. 



THE MILK IN ITS RELATION TO CHEESE 27 



The jars are then set in water at 110° F. to bring the 
temperature of the milk to 98° F. The jar should be kept 
covered. A sink or wash-tub makes a convenient place 
in which to keep the jars. When the temperature of the 
milk is 98° F., ten drops of rennet extract or pepsin is added 
to each jar. A uniform temperature of 98° F. should 
be maintained in the jars. This will necessitate the 
addition of warm water occasionally to the water sur- 
rounding the jars. When the milk is coagulated, the 
curd is broken up with a sterile knife. Precaution should 
be taken to sterilize the 
knife after using it in one 
jar before putting it into 
another. The best way 
to do this is to hold the 
knife for a minute in a 
pail of boiling water, after 
taking it out of each jar. 
The same precaution 
should be observed with 
the thermometer. Unless 
care is taken, contamina- 
tion is liable to be carried from one jar to the other. After 
cutting, the whey is poured off. The temperature should 
be kept at 98° F. so that the organisms wall have a suitable 
temperature for growth. The whey should be poured 
from the jars occasionally, usually about every half hour. 
As the fermentation takes place, different odors will 
be noticed in different jars. In ten to twelve hours the 
jar should be finally examined for odors and the curd 
taken out and cut to examine it for gas pockets. By 
this means, bad flavors and gas in the cheese can be 
traced to their sources. 




Fig. 4. 



• A gang sediment tester, one 
tester removed. 



28 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



43. The sediment test. — The presence of solid material 
or dirt in the milk is always accompanied by bacterial 
contamination. By means of the sediment test, the 
amount of solid material can be determined. The test 
consists of filtering the milk through a layer of cotton ; 
the foreign material is left on the cotton filter. Various 
devices for filtering the milk have been 
manufactured. (Figs. 4 and 5.) In 
order to be able to compare the filters 
from the different dairy -men's milk, the 
same amount of each patron's milk is 
filtered, usually about a pint. These 
tests are usually made once or twice a 
month at the factory and the filters 
placed on a card where the dairy-men 
can see them. Much improvement in 
the quality of the milk has been accom- 
plished by the use of the sediment test. 
The purpose of this test may be and 
often is defeated by the use of effi- 
cient strainers. Milk produced in an unclean way may be 
rendered nearly free from sediment if carefully strained. 
It must be remembered that the strainer takes out 
only the undissolved substances and that bacteria and 
soluble materials which constitute a very large part 
of the filth pass through with the milk. 




Fig. 5. — A single sedi 
ment tester. 



CHAPTER III 
COAGULATING MATERIALS 

At the present time, two substances are used to coag- 
ulate milk for cheese-making, — rennet extract and com- 
mercial pepsin.^ Many substances will coagulate milk, 
such as acids and other chemicals. Enzymes in certain 
plants will also coagulate it. 

The curing or ripening of the cheese seems to depend 
on the physical and chemical properties of the curd, on 
the activity of certain organisms and on enzymes pro- 
duced by them or in the milk. Rennet extract and 
pepsin are the only known substances which will produce 
curd of such character as will permit the desired ripening 
changes to take place. Until recently, rennet extract 
was principally used to coagulate the milk, but because 
of the scarcity, pepsin is now being substituted. 

44. Ferments. — Many of the common changes tak- 
ing place in milk are due to fermentations. The souring 
of milk is one of the most familiar cases of fermentation. 

1 Stevenson, C, Pepsin in eheesemaking, Jour. Agr. (New 
Zeal.) 14 (1917), pages 32-34. 

Todd, A., and E. C. V. Cornish, Experiments in the prepara- 
tion of homemade rennet, Jour. Bd. Agr. (London) 23 (1916), 
no. 6, pages 549-555. 

Besana, C, Lack of coagulating ferment in eheesemaking, 
Staz. Sper. Agr. Ital. 49 (1916), pages 10-12. 

Van Dam, W., Rennet economy and substitutes, Verslag. 
Ver. Exploit. Proefzuivelboerderij. Hoorn, 1914, pages 45-46. 

29 



30 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

The important change taking place is the formation of 
lactic acid from the milk-sugar. The change is brought 
about by certain living organisms, namely, the lactic acid- 
forming bacteria. Another familiar case of fermentation 
is the coagulation of milk by rennet extract or pepsin. 
In this case, the change is produced by a chemical sub- 
stance, not a living organism. Fermentation may be 
defined as a chemical change of an organic compound 
through the action of living organisms or of chemical 
agents. 

There are two general classes of ferments: (1) living 
organisms, or organized ferments; (2) chemical, or un- 
organized ferments. Organized ferments are living micro- 
organisms, capable, as a result of their growth, of causing 
the changes. Unorganized ferments are chemical sub- 
stances or ferments without life, capable of causing 
marked changes in many complex organic compounds, 
while the enzymes themselves undergo little or no change. 
These unorganized ferments are such as rennin, pepsin, 
trypsin, ptyalin. The rennet and pepsin must, there- 
fore, be very thoroughly mixed into the milk to insure 
complete and uniform results, because they act by con- 
tact, and theoretically, if they could be recovered, might 
be used over and over again. Practically, the amount 
used is so small a percentage that recovery would be 
impractical even if possible. 

45. Nature of rennet. — Two enzymes or ferments 
are found in rennet extract, rennin and pepsin. They are 
prepared from the secreting areas of living membranes 
of the stomachs of mammalian young. For rennet- 
making, these stomachs are most valuable if taken before 
the young have received any other feed than milk. Ren- 
nin at this stage appears to predominate over pepsin 



COAGULATING MATERIALS 31 

which is ah-eady secreted to some extent. With the 
inclusion of other feed, the secretion of pepsin comes to 
predominate. Rennin has never been separated entirely 
from pepsin. Both of these enzymes are secreted by 
digestive glands in the same area, perhaps even by the 
same glands. They are so closely related that many 
workers have regarded them as identical. In practical 
work the effectiveness of rennet preparations has been 
greatest when stomachs which have digested feed other 
than milk are excluded. The differences, therefore, 
however difficult to define, appear to be important in 
the commercial preparation of rennet. 

It was the practice until a few years ago for 
each cheese-maker to prepare his own rennet extract. 
Each patron was supposed to supply so many rennets. 
Now commercial rennet extract and pepsin are on the 
market ; however, some Swiss cheese-makers prefer to 
make their own rennet extract. For sheep's and goat's 
milk cheese, some makers hold that rennet made from kid 
or lamb stomachs is best for handling the milk of the 
respective species. The objection to the cheese-maker 
preparing his own rennet extract is that it varies in 
strength from batch to batch and is liable to spoil 
quickly. Taints and bad odors and flavors develop 
in it and so taint the cheese. 

46, Preparation of remiet extract. — This extract may 
be manufactured commercially from digestive stomachs 
of calves, pigs or sheep. An animal is given a full meal 
just before slaughtering ; this stimulates a large flow of 
the digestive juices, containing the desired enzymes. 

The stomach is taken from the animal, cleaned, com- 
monly inflated and dried. It may be held in the dry con- 
dition until needed for use. Such stomachs are usually 



32 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

spoken of as " rennets " in the trade. Such old rennets 
may be seen to-day hanging from the rafters of some of 
the older cheese factories. When wanted for use, rennets 
are placed in oak barrels and covered with water. Before 
placing them in the barrel, they are cut open so that the 
water may have easy access. Salt is usuall}^ added to 
the water at the rate of 3 to 5 per cent. They are stirred 
and pounded in this solution from five to seven days. 
At the end of this time, they are wrung through a clothes- 
wringer to remove the liquid. The rennets are put back 
into a fresh solution of salt and water, the object being 
to obtain all the digestive juices possible. They are 
usually soaked from four to six weeks. At the end of 
this time, most of the digestive juices will have been re- 
moved. The liquid portion is passed through a filter 
made of straw, charcoal and sand. When clean, an excess 
of salt is added to preserve it. 

Such extracts cannot be sterilized by heat because 
the necessary temperature would destroy the enzyme. 
Effective disinfectants cannot be used in food products. 
The extract, therefore, should be kept cool to retard bac- 
terial growth. The extract is kept in wooden barrels, 
stone jugs or yellow glass bottles to protect it from light, 
which is able to destroy its activity. Rennet extract 
should be clear, with a clean salty taste and a distinct 
rennet flavor. There should be no cloudy appearance 
and no muddy sediment in properly preserved rennet. 
Rennet extract is on the market in the form of a liquid 
and a powder, the former being much more common. 
The commercial forms of rennet have the advantage in 
the skill used in their preparation and standardization. 
The combined product from large numbers of stomachs 
may not be as effective a preparation as the most skillfully 



COAGULATING MATERIALS 33 

produced sample from the very choicest single stomach, 
but it gives a uniformity of result which improves the 
average product greatly. 

47. Pepsin. — Pepsin is on the market in several 
commercial forms, as a liquid, scale pepsin and in a 
granular form known as spongy pepsin. Some commer- 
cial concerns put out a preparation which is a mixture 
of rennet extract and commercial pepsin. 

48. Chemistry of curdling. — The chemistry of casein ^ 
and of curd formation under the influence of acid and 
rennet extract and pepsin has been the subject of many 
years' research. While many points remain unsettled, 
the general considerations together with a large mass of 
accepted facts may be presented and some of the unsolved 
problems pointed out as left for future researches. 

Casein is a white amorphous powder, practically 
insoluble in water. It is an acid and as such readily 
dissolves in solutions of the hydroxides or the carbonates 
of alkalies and alkaline earths by forming soluble salts. 

Pure casein salt solutions and fresh milk do not 
coagulate on boiling, but in the presence of free acid 
coagulation may take place below the boiling temperature. 

1 T'he paragraphs on the chemistry of casein and on rennet 
action have been selected from a complete discussion of the 
subject by E. B. Forbes and M. H. Keith in Ohio Exp. Sta. 
Tech. Bui. 5 entitled, "A re\'iew of the literature of phosphorus 
compounds in animal metabolism." The original references 
cited in this discussion are given at the end of the chapter in the 
order of their citation in the text. 

See also, Van Slyke, L. L., and D. D. Van Slyke, I, The 
action of dilute acids upon casein when no soluble compounds 
are formed; II, The hydrolyses of the sodium salts of casein, 
N. Y. (Geneva) Exp. Sta. Tech. Bui. 3, pages 75-162, 1906. 

Sammis, J. L., S. K. Suzuki and F. W. Laabs, Factors control- 
ling the moisture content of cheese curds, U. S. Dept. Agr. Bur. 
An. Ind. Bui. 122, pages 1-61, 1910. 

D 



34 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

The t'oao;iiliiin formed in the ease of milk inekides fat 
and cak-ium j)hosphate. The shfi;ht i)elhek' which coats 
over milk when it is warmed is of the same comi)osition. 

49. Use of acid. — A commonly accepted explanation 
of the precii)itati()n of casein by acids is that the casein is 
held in solution by chemical union with a base (lime in 
the case of milk) ; that added acid removes the base, 
allowing the insoluble casein to precipitate ; and that 
excess of acid unites with casein, forming a compound 
which is more or less readily soluble. 

50. Robertson's theory. — According to Robertson's 
conception, in a soluble solution of a protein or its salt, 
the molecules of the protein unite with each other to a 
certain extent, in this way forming polymers. The re- 
action is reversible, and the iK)int of equilibrium between 
the compound and its polymeric modification varies 
under the infiuence of whatever condition affects the 
concentration of the protein ions. Addition of water, 
or of acid, alkali or salt, or the application of heat has 
such an effect, and consequently alters the relative num- 
ber of heavier ni()lecule-comj)lcxes. Robertson's experi- 
ments give evidence that one of the effects of increase 
of temperature on a solution of casein is a shifting of the 
eciuilibrium in the direction of the higher complexes. 
He explains coagulation as being a result of these molec- 
ular aggregates becoming so large as to assume the prop- 
erties of matter in mass and to become ])ractically an 
unstable suspension and then a precipitate. The acid 
curd then is casein or some combination of casein with 
the preci])itant acid. 

51. Rennet curd. — Rennet extract and pepsin coagu- 
lation dilVcrs from coagulation by acids, and cannot be 
looked on as a simple removal of the base from a caseinate. 



COAGU LATINO MATERIALS 35 

The presence' of soluble calcium salts (or other alkaline 
earth salts) seems to be essential, and the precipitate 
formed is not casein or a casein salt, but a salt of a slightly 
different nucleoalbumin called " paracasein." Many 
writers, following Halliburton, call this modification 
produced by rennin the " casein " and that from which 
it is derived, " caseinogen." Foster and a few others 
have used the term " tyrein " for the rennet clot. 

A number of investigations have been made on the 
conditions essential or favorable to formation of the 
coagulum, es])ecially with regard to the effects of the 
degree of acidity and of conditions affecting the amount 
of calcium present, either as free soluble salt or bound to 
the casein. Soluble salts of calcium, barium and stron- 
tium favor or hasten coagulation, while salts of ammonium, 
sodium and i)()tassium retard or i)revent coagulation. 

The bulk of the coagulum from milk is a calcium para- 
caseinate, but it carries down with it calcium phosphate 
and fat, both of which bodies have been helped to remain 
in their state of suspension in milk by the presence of 
the casein salt. Lindet (1912) has concluded that about 
one-half of the phosjjhorus contained in the rennet curd 
is in the form of ])hosphate of lime (probably tricalcic), 
the other half being organically combined phosphoric 
acid. 

52. Hammarsten's theory. — According to Hammar- 
sten (1877, 1890), whose view has been commonly held, 
the distinctive effect of the ferment is not precipitation 
but the transformation of casein into paracasein. This 
is evidenced by the fact that if rennet be allowed to act 
on solutions free from lime salts no precipitate occurs ; 
but there is an invisible alteration of the casein, for now, 
even if the ferment be destroyed by boiling the solution. 



36 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

addition of lime salts will cause immediate coagulation. 
(See also Spiro, 1906.) Hence the process of rennet 
coagulation is a two-phase process ; the first phase is the 
transformation of casein by rennin, the second is the 
visible coagulation caused by lime salts. 

Furthermore, if the purest casein and the purest rennin 
were used, Hammarsten always found after coagulation 
that the filtrate contained very small amounts of a pro- 
tein. This protein he designated as the " whey protein," 

In accordance with these observations, Hammarsten 
(1911) explains the rennin action " as a cleavage process, 
in which the chief mass of the casein, sometimes more 
than 90 per cent, is split off as paracasein, a body closely 
related to casein, and in the presence of sufficient amounts 
of lime salts the paracasein-lime precipitates out while 
the proteose-like substance (whey-protein) remains in 
solution." 

By continued action of rennin on paracasein, a further 
transformation has been found in several cases (Petry, 
1906; Van Herwerden, 1907; Van Dam, 1909), but 
perhaps due to a contamination of the rennin with pep- 
sin, or to the identity of these two enzymes. The action 
which forms paracasein and whey-protein takes place 
in a short time (Hammarsten, 1896 ; Schmidt-Nielson, 
1906). The composition and solubilities of paracasein 
have received considerable attention. (See Loevenhart, 
1904; Kikkoji, 1909; Van Slyke and Bosworth, 1912.) 
It is more readily digested by pepsin-hydrochloric acid 
than is casein (Hosl, 1910). 

53. Duclaux theory. — Duclaux (1884) and Loeven- 
hart (1904) and others do not accept Hammarsten's 
theory ; but to most workers it seems probable, at least, 
that the action of the rennin is to cause a cleavage of 



COAGULATING MATERIALS 37 

casein with formation of paracasein. However, the 
chemical and physical differences observed between casein 
and paracasein appear to be so slight that Loevenhart 
and some others think that they are only physical, per- 
haps differences in the size of the colloid or solution 
aggregates. Loevenhart conceives of a large part of the 
work of the rennet (or of the acid, in acid and heat coagu- 
lation) as being a freeing of the calcium to make it avail- 
able for precipitation. Some think that the aggregates of 
paracasein are larger than those of casein, but there is 
more evidence of their being smaller, which idea cor- 
responds with the findings of Bosworth, though he looks 
on the change as a true cleavage. 

54. Bang's theory. — Another description of the pre- 
cipitation is given by Bang (1911), who studied the prog- 
ress of the coagulation process by means of interruptions 
at definite intervals. His observations confirm the idea 
that rennin causes the formation of paracasein, and 
that the calcium salt serves only for the precipitation of 
the paracasein ; the rennin has to do also with the mo- 
bilizing of lime salts. According to Bang, before coagu- 
lation occurs, paracaseins with constantly greater affinity 
for calcium phosphate are produced. These take up in- 
creasing amounts of calcium phosphate, until finally the 
combination formed can no longer remain in solution. 

55. Bosworth's theory. — By a very recent work of 
L. L. Van Slyke and A. W. Bosworth (Van Slyke and 
Bosworth, 1912, 1913; and Bosworth and Van Slyke, 
1913), in which ash-free casein and paracasein were com- 
pared as to their elementary composition, and as to the 
salts they form with bases, and the properties of these 
salts, it is indicated that the two compounds are alike in 
percentage composition and in combining equivalent, the 



38 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

paracasein molecule being one-half of the casein mole- 
cule. Moreover, Bosworth (1913) has shown that, if the 
rennin cleavage be carried out under conditions which 
avoid autohydrolysis, no other protein is formed ; also 
that, if the calcium caseinate present be one containing 
four equivalents of calcium, the paracaseinate does not 
precipitate, save in the presence of a soluble calcium 
salt, while, if the calcium caseinate be one of two equiva- 
lents of base, rennin does cause immediate coagulation. 
Bosworth concludes that the rennin action is a cleavage 
(probably hydrolytic) of a molecule of caseinate into two 
molecules of paracaseinate, the coagulation being a 
secondary effect due to a change in solubilities, dicalcium 
paracaseinate being soluble in pure water but not in water 
containing more than a trace of calcium salt, and the mono- 
calcium caseinate being insoluble in water. The alkali 
paracaseinates, as well as caseinates, are soluble. This 
explanation seems to promise to harmonize the observa- 
tions with regard to acidity and the effects of the presence 
of soluble salts. This theory represents, therefore, many 
years of continuous work at the New York Experiment 
Station centered primarily on American Cheddar cheese. 
Disputed points remain for further study but these 
workers have contributed much toward a clear descrip- 
tion of the chemical constitution of casein as affected by 
rennet action and bacterial activity. 

The investigations of these authors and of Hart with 
regard to the changes which the paracasein, the calcium 
and the phosphorus undergo during the ripening of cheese 
(Van Slyke and Hart, 1902, 1905; Van Slyke and Bos- 
worth, 1907, 1913; Bosworth, 1907) contributed to this 
interpretation. 



COAGULATING MATERIALS 39 

Bang, Ivar, Ueber die chemisehe Vorgang bei der Milehgerin- 

nung diireh Lab, Skand. Arch. Physiol. 25, pages 105-144 ; 

through Jalu-esb. u. d. Fortseh. d. Thiercheni. 41, pages 

221-222, 1911. 
BoswoRTH, A. W., The aetion of rennin on casein, N. Y. Exp. 

Sta. Tech. Bui. 31, 1913. 
BoswoRTH, A. W., Chemical studies of Camembert cheese, 

N. Y. Exp. Sta. Tech. Bui. 5, 1907. 
BoswoRTH, A. W., and L. L. Van Slyke, Preparation and com- 
position of basic calcium caseinate and paracaseinate, 

Jour. Biol. Chem. Vol. 14, pages 207-210, 1913. 
DucLAUx, Emile, Action de la presure sur le lait, Compt. 

Rend. Acad. Sci. 98, pages 526-528, 1884. 
Hammarsten, Olof, Zur Kenntnis des Caseins und der Wirkung 

des Labfermentes, Nova. Acta Regiae Soc. Sci. Upsaliensis 

in Memoriam Quattuor Saec. ab Univ., Upsaliensi Perae- 

torum, 1877. 
Hammarsten, Olof, Ueber das Verhalten des Paracaseins zu 

dem Labenzyme, Zeit. physiol. Chem. 22, pages 103-126, 

1896. 
Hammarsten, Olof, A text book of physiological chemistry, 

from the author's 7th German edition, 1911. 
HosL, J., Untersehiede in der tryptischen und peptischen Spal- 

tung des Caseins, Paracaseins und des Paracaseinkalkes aus 

Kuh- und Ziegenmilch, Inaug. Diss. Bern., 31 pp., 1910. 
KiKKOji, T., Beitrage zur Kenntniss des Caseins und Paracaseins, 

Zeit. physiol. Chem. No. 61, pages 130-146, 1909. 
LiNDET, L., Solubilite des albuminoides du lait dans les elements 

du serum ; retrogradation de leur solubilite sous I'influ- 

ence du chlorure, Bui. Soc. Chim. (ser. 4) 13, pages 929- 

935. 
LiNDET, L., Sur les elements mineraux contenus dans la caseine 

du lait. Rep. Eighth Internat. Congr. of Applied Chem. 19, 

199-207, 1912. 
Loevenhart, a. S., Ueber die Gerinnung der Milch, Zeit. 

physiol. Chem. 41, pages 177-205, 1904. 
Petry, Eugen, Ueber die Einwirkung des Labferments auf 

Kasein, Beitrage z. Chem. Physiol, u. Path. 8, pages 339- 

364, 1906. 
Robertson, T. Brailsford, On the influence of temperature 

upon the solubility of casein in alkaUne solutions, Jour. 

Biol. Chem. 5, pages 147-154, 1908. 
ScHMiDT-NiELSON, SiGVAL, Zur Kenutnis des Kaseins und der 

Labgerinnung, Upsala lakaref. Forh. (N. F.) No. 11, Suppl. 



40 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

Hammarsten Festschrift No. XV, 1-26 ; through Jahresb. 
u. d. Fortsehr. d. Thierchem. No. 36, pages 255-256, 1906. 

Spiro, K., Beeinflussung und Natur des Labungsvorganges, 
Beitrage z. Chem. Physiol, u. Path. 8, pages 365-369, 1906. 

Van Dam, W., Ueber die Wirkung des Labs Auf. Paracaseinkalks, 
Zeit. physiol. Chem. No. 61, pages 147-163, 1909. 

Van Herwerden, M., Beitrag zur Kenntnis der Labwirkung 
auf Casein, Zeit. physiol. Chem. 52, pages 184-206, 1907. 

Van Slyke, L. L., and A. W. Bosworth, I. Some of the first 
chemical changes in Cheddar cheese. II. The acidity of 
the water extract of Cheddar cheese, N. Y. Exp. Sta. Tech. 
Bui. 4, 1907. 

Van Slyke, L. L., and A. W. Bosworth, Composition and 
properties of some casein and paracasein compounds and 
their relations to cheese, N. Y. Exp. Sta. Tech. Bui. 26, 
1912. 

Van Slyke, L. L., and A. W. Bosworth, Composition and 
properties of some casein and paracasein compounds and 
their relations to cheese, N. Y. Exp. Sta. Tech. Bui. 26, 
1912. 

Van Slyke, L. L., and A. W. Bosworth, Method of preparing 
ash-free casein and paracasein. Jour. Biol. Chem. Vol. 14, 
pages 203-206, 1913. 

Van Slyke, L. L., and A. W. Bosworth, Preparation and com- 
position of unsaturated or acid caseinates and paracaseinates, 
Ibid. Vol. 14, pages 211-225, 1913. 

Van Slyke, L. L., and A. W. Bosworth, Valency of molecules 
and molecular weights of casein and paracasein. Ibid. Vol. 
14, pages 227-230. 1913. 

Van Slyke, L. L., and A. W. Bosworth, Composition and prop- 
erties of the brine-soluble compounds in cheese. Jour. Biol. 
Chem. 14, pages 231-236, 1913. 

Van Slyke, L. L., and E. B. Hart, A study of some of the salts 
formed by casein and paracasein with acids ; their rela- 
tions to American Cheddar cheese, N. Y. Exp. Sta. Bui. 214, 
1902. 

Van Slyke, L. L., and E. B. Hart, Casein and paracasein in 
some of their relations to bases and acids, American Chem. 
Jour. 33, pages 461-996, 1905. 

Van Slyke, L. L., and E. B. Hart, Some of the relations of 
casein and paracasein to bases and acids, and their applica- 
tion to Cheddar cheese, N. Y. Exp. Sta. Bui. 261, 1905. 



CHAPTER IV 
LACTIC STARTERS 

Acidity in cheese-making arises almost exclusively 
from the lactic acid produced from the fermentation of 
milk-sugar (lactose) by bacteria. Hydrochloric acid 
is used in the Wisconsin ^ process of making pasteurized 
milk cheese and sometimes for making skimmed-milk curd 
for baking purposes. It is regularly used in precipitat- 
ing casein not for food but for manufacturing purposes. 

56. Acidifying organisms. — Many species of bacteria 
have been shown to possess the power to produce lactic 
acid by fermenting lactose. In practice, however, the 
cheese-maker seeks to control this fermentation by the 
actual introduction of the desired organisms and by the 
production of conditions which will insure this dominance 
through natural selection. For this purpose the initial 
souring for most types of cheeses is produced by some 
variety of the species originally described by Esten ^ 
and commonly referred to as Bacterium lactis-acidi, but 
variously named as B. acidi-lactici, Streptococcus lacticus, 
B. guntheri by different authors. Organisms of this 
series dominate all other species in milk which is in- 

^ Saminis, J. L., and A. T. Bruhn, The manufacture of 
Cheddar cheese from pasteurized milk, Wis. Exp. Sta. Research 
Bui. 27, 1912. 

"^ Esten, W. M., Bacteria in the dairy, Conn. (Storrs) Rept. 
1896, pages 44-52. 

41 



42 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

cubated at 70° F. They produce a smooth sohd mass 
without a sign of gas holes and without the separation 
of whey from the curd, and develop in milk a maximum 
acidity of about 0.90 of one per cent when titrated as 
lactic acid. (For titration see Chapter V.) This species 
is usually present in small numbers in fresh milk. There 
are many varieties or strains of the species with differing 
rates of activity and measurable differences in acid pro- 
duced but with approximately^ the same qualitative 
characters. Most commercial starters for cheese- and 
butter-making belong to this group of species, although 
special mixtures with other organisms are prepared 
for special purposes. In addition to this group, most 
varieties of cheese contain some members of the colon- 
aerogenes group. When the milk is in proper condition, 
the activity of this group should b^ held in check by the 
early and rapid development of ncid. Free development 
of members of this group usually shows itself in the 
presence of gas holes in the curd. 

57. Starter. — The practice of using pure cultures 
in cheese-making has brought about the development 
of factory methods of producing day by day cultures of 
the organisms desired, in quantities sufficient to inoculate 
the total quantity of milk used in manufacture. For 
this purpose milk is mostly used and the product is known 
as " starter." For cheese-making purposes, a starter 
is a substance used in the manufacture of dairy products 
having a predominance of lactic acid-forming micro- 
organisms in an active state. There are two general 
classes of starter: (1) Natural starter; (2) commercial 
starter. 

58. Natural starter. — Milk, or other similar substance, 
which has become sour or in which large numbers of 



LACTIC STARTERS 43 

lactic acid-forming organisms are present, is called a 
natural starter when used in the manufacture of dairy 
products. To secure clean-flavored milk, the cheese- 
maker usually selects the milk of some producer who 
usually brings good milk and allows it to sour natu- 
rally for use the next day. There is often a variation 
from day to day in the milk delivered by the same 
producer, so that the cheese-maker is not certain of a 
uniform quality in his fundamental material. While 
the lactic acid-forming organisms are developing, other 
organisms may also be present in numbers sufficient to 
produce bad flavors. If a starter has any objectionable 
flavor, it should not be used. Natural starters very 
commonly develop objectionable flavors which at first 
are very difficult to recognize. When natural starters 
with objectionable but not easily recognizable odors are 
used, the effect may be seen on the cheese. Milk, sour 
whey and buttermilk are materials commonly used as 
natural starter. A common difficulty in skimmed-milk 
cheese is caused by the use of buttermilk as a starter. 

59. Commercial starter or pure cultures. — The alter- 
native practice consists in the introduction of pure cul- 
tures of known strains of lactic bacteria into special milk 
to make the starter. Since these cultures must be pre- 
pared by a bacteriologist, commercial laboratories have 
developed a large business in their production. Many 
such commercial brands are manufactured under trade- 
marked names. Some of these cultures represent races 
of lactic bacteria cultivated and cared for efficiently, hence 
uniformly valuable over long periods of time. Others care- 
lessly produced are worthless, or even a peril to the user. 

These organisms are usually shipped in small quantities 
in bottles of liquid or powder, or in capsules of uniform 



44 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

size. The contents may be either the culture medium 
upon which the organisms grew or inert substance designed 
merely to hold the bacteria in inactive form. In either 
solid or liquid form, the producer of the culture should 
guarantee its activity up to a plainly stated date. 

It is the problem ^ of the cheese-maker or butter-maker 
to increase this small amount of lactic acid-forming or- 
ganisms to such numbers and in such active condition 
that it may be used in the f actor}' ; while being built 
up, these organisms must be kept pure. The usual prac- 
tice is to allow them to develop in some material, usually 
whole milk or skimmed-milk ; dissolved milk powder may 
be used in the place of milk. 

60. Manufacturer's directions. — The manufacturer 
usually sends directions with his starter preparation, 
telling how it should be used to secure the best result. 
These directions apply to average conditions and must be 
varied to suit the individual instances so that a good 
starter will be the result. The directions usually state 
the amount of milk necessary for the first inoculation. 
It is usually a small amount, one or two quarts. After 
the specific kmount has been selected, this milk should 
be pasteurized. 

61. Selecting milk. — The milk for use in starter- 
making should be selected with very much care. Only 
clean-flavored sweet milk, free from undesirable micro- 

^ Bushnell, L. D., and W. R. Wright, Preparation and use of 
butter starter, Mich. Exp. Sta. Bui. 246, 1907. 

Hastings, E. G., Preparation and use of starter. Wis. Exp. 
Sta. Bui. 181, 1909. 

Larsen, C, and W. White, Preparation and use of starter, 
S. D. Exp. Sta. Bui. 123, 1910. 

Guthrie, E. S., and W. W. Fisk, Propagation of starter for 
butter-making and cheese-making, N. Y. (Cornell) Exp. Sta. 
Circ. 13, 1912. 



LACTIC STARTERS 45 

organisms, should be used iu the preparation of starter. 
The milk is ordinarily chosen from a producer whose 
milk is usually in good condition. The quality of the 
milk can be determined by the use of the fermentation 
test. (See Chapter II.) It is better to choose only 
the morning's milk for the making of starter, because 
the bacteria have not had so much opportunity to 
develop. In no case should the mixed milk be used in 
the preparation of starter, as this eliminates all oppor- 
tunity for selection. The flavor of the starter will be the 
same as that of the milk from which it is made. 

62. Pasteurization is the process of heating to a high 
temperature for a given length of time and quickly cool- 
ing. It kills most of the micro-organisms in the 
milk. In other words, it makes a clean seed-bed for 
the pure culture. The temperatures of pasteurization 
recommended for starter-making diflFer with the authority. 
A temperature of 1S0° F. for thirty minutes or longer 
seems to be very satisfactory, since under these condi- 
tions nearly all the micro-organisms in the milk are killed. 

63. Containers. — Various kinds of containers may 
be used for starter-making. One-quart glass fruit jars or 
milk bottles make very satisfactory containers, because 
the condition of the starter may be seen at any time. 
They are also easily cleaned. They have the disad- 
vantage, however, of being easily broken, if the tem- 
perature is suddenly changed, or if severely jarred. 
Tin containers may also be used. Such containers are 
not easily broken, but they are harder to clean and must 
be opened to examine the contents ; hence the liability 
of contamination is very much greater. 

This small amount of milk may be pasteurized by plac- 
ing the container in water heated to the desired tempera- 



46 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

ture. A very satisfactory arrangement is to cut off a 
barrel, and place a steam pipe in it. The barrel can then 
be filled partly full of water and heated by steam. The 
bottles of milk to be pasteurized are hung in the water in 
the barrel. Two or three more bottles should be prepared 
than it is expected will be used as some of the bottles 
are liable to be broken while cooling or heating. The 
bottles should be filled about two-thirds full. This leaves 
room enough to add the mother starter and later to break 
up the starter to examine it. It is desirable not to have 
the milk or starter touch the cover since contaminations 
are more likely. It is a good plan when pasteurizing to 
have one bottle as a check. This may be filled with 
water and left open and the thermometer placed in it. 
A luiiform temperatiu'e may be obtained by shaking the 
bottles. 

64. Adding cultures. — After being pasteurized, the 
milk should be cooled to a temperature of 80° F. This 
is a suitable temperature for the development of the 
lactic acid-forming organisms. The commercial or pure 
culture should now be added to the milk at the rate 
specified in the directions. Care should be exercised in 
opening bottles not to put the covers in an unclean place, 
A sterile dipper is a good place to put them. After the 
culture has been added to the milk, it should be mixed 
thoroughly by shaking the bottle. This should be re- 
peated every fifteen or twenty minutes for four or five 
times. This is done to make certain that the culture 
is thoroughly mixed with the milk. The milk should 
be placed in a room or incubator as near 80° F. as pos- 
sible, in order to have a uniform temperature for the 
growth of the organisms. The bacteria in the pure 
culture are more or less dormant so that a somewhat 



LACTIC STARTERS 47 

higher temperature than the ordinary is necessary to 
stimulate their activity. This milk should be coagulated 
in eighteen to twenty-four hours, depending largely on 
the uniformity of the temperature during incubation. 

65. Cleanliness. — To produce a good starter, great 
care should be exercised that all utensils coming in 
contact with the milk are sterile. After the milk is 
in the container in which the starter is made, it 
should be kept covered as continuously as possible. 
Thermometers should not be put into it to ascertain the 
temperature. When examining the starter, do not dip 
into it, but pour out, as this prevents contamination. 
The cover, when removed from the container, should be 
put in a sterile place in such way that the dirt will 
not stick to it and later get into the starter. 

66. " Mother " starter or startoline. — The thickened 
sour milk obtained by inoculating the sweet pasteurized 
milk with pure culture of lactic acid-forming bacteria 
is known as " mother starter " or " startoline." 

67. Examining starter. — This starter should be ex- 
amined carefull\' as to physical properties, odor and taste. 
The coagulation should be smooth, free from whey and 
gassy pockets or bubbles. Sometimes the first few m- 
oculations from a new culture will show signs of gas, 
but, usually, this will quickly disappear, and not injure 
the starter. It should have a clean sour cream odor and 
clean, mild, acid flavor. After breaking up it should be 
thick and creamy, entirely free from lumps. This starter 
may have an objectionable flavor, due to the media in 
which the organisms were growing when shipped. In 
such cases it is necessary to carry the starter one or two 
propagations to overcome the flavor, to enliven the 
micro-organisms and to secure the quantity desired. 



48 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



68. Second day's propagation. — For the second day, 
the milk for the starter is selected as on the first day. 
It is pasteurized, and this time cooled to 70° F. The 
milk is cooled a trifle colder the second day than the 
first, because the organisms have become more active 
and hence do not require as high a temperature to grow. 
Instead of inoculating with powder, as was done the 
first day, the mother starter prepared the first day is 
used. This requires only a very small amount, perhaps 
a tablespoonful to a quart bottle. It should be thor- 
oughly mixed with the milk. This starter may have the 

flavor of the media used in 
the laboratory culture, 
therefore may need to be 
carried one or two days 
more to eliminate it. After 
the flavor has become nor- 
mal, the mother starter is 
ready for commercial use. 
69. Preparation of larger 
amount of starter. — The 
first thing to determine is 
the quantity of starter re- 
quired. As much milk 
should be carefully chosen 
as the amount of starter 
desired. This milk should 
then be pasteurized. An 
improved starter-can (Fig. 6) may be used in the pas- 
teurization of the milk and the making of starter, or 
a milk-can (Fig. 7) placed in a tub of water in which 
there is a steam pipe. The former requires mechanical 
power to operate the agitator, but the latter can be used 




Fig. 6. — An improved starter-can. 



LACTIC STARTERS 



49 




7. — A simpls device for 
preparation of starter. 



the 



where mechanical power is not available. In the latter 
the milk and starter are stirred by hand. This is the 

kind of apparatus more 

often found in cheese 
factories. 

If possible, this milk 
should be pasteurized to 
180° F. for thirty minutes ; 
this kills most of the bac- 
teria and spores. The 
milk should be cooled to 
60°-65° F., the tempera- 
ture of incubation. This 
temperature may be varied 
with conditions, so that 
the starter will be ready for use at the desired time. 
The higher the temperature, the less time is required to 
ripen the starter. 

70. Amount of mother starter to use. — The mother 
starter prepared the day before is now used to inoculate 
the starter milk. The amount to use will depend on : 

1. Temperature of milk when mother starter is added ; 

2. Average temperature at which the milk will be kept 
during the ripening period ; 

3. Time allowed for starter to ripen before it is to be used ; 

4. Vigor and acidity of the mother starter added. 
There is a very wide range as to the amount of mother 
starter required, from 0.5 of one per cent to 10 per cent 
being used under different conditions. 

Some operators prefer to add the mother starter while 
the milk is at a temperature of about 90° F., before it has 
been cooled to the incubating temperature. This reduces 
the amount of mother starter necessary. 



50 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

If ail even incubating temperature can be maintained, 
it will require less mother starter than if the temperature 
goes down. 

If the ripening period is short, it will require a larger 
amount of mother starter, than if the ripening period is 
longer. If the starter has a low acidity or weak body 
indicating that organisms are of low vitality, it will re- 
quire more mother starter. 

71. Qualities. — The starter, when ready to use, may 
or may not be coagulated ; a good idea of the quality of 
the starter may be gained by the condition of the coagu- 
lation. The coagulation should be jelly- or custard-like, 
close and smooth, entirely free from gas pockets and 
should not be wheyed off. 

When broken up, the starter should be of a smooth 
creamy texture and entirely free from lumpiness or 
wateriness. It should have a slightly pronounced acid 
aroma. The starter should be free from taints and all 
undesirable flavors; I'l? flavor should be a clean, mild 
acid taste. 

72. How to carry the mother starter. — Some mother 
starter must be carried from day to day to iiioculate 
the large starter. This may be carried or made in several 
ways : 

1 . Independently : By this method a mother starter 
is made and carried entirely separately from the large 
starter. It requires more time and work, but is by far 
the best method. With a good mother starter, there is 
not so much danger of the larger starter becoming poor 
in quality. 

2. Mother starter may be made by dipping pasteurized 
milk from that pre])ared for the large starter with sterile 
jars and then inoculating these jars separately. By 



LACTIC STARTERS 51 

this method, if the milk selected for the large starter is 
poor, the mother starter for the next day will be the same. 
It is very difficult by this method to carry a uniform, 
high quality mother starter. 

There is danger that the container used for the mother 
starter may not be sterile, and there is also danger of 
contamination in transferring the milk. 

3. Another practice is to hold over some of the large 
starter used to-day for mother starter. This is by far 
the easiest method. By this practice, there is no cer- 
tainty of the quality of the starter, because there is little 
or no control of the mother starter. If the large starter 
is for some reason not good, there is no separate reserve 
of mother starter on which to rely. 

73. Starter score-cards. — The use of a score-card tends 
to analyze the observations in such a way as to emphasize 
all the characteristics desired in the starter. Such an 
analysis seeks to minimize the personal factor and pro- 
duce a standardization of the quality. The score-card 
finally reduces the qualities of the starter to a numerical 
basis for ease of comparison. Many score-cards have 
been proposed but the one preferred by the authors is 
that used by the Dairy Department of the New York 
State College of Agriculture, which is as follows : 

Cornell Score-card 

Flavor 50 Clean, desirable acid. 

Aroma 20 Clean, agreeable acid. No undesir- 
able aroma. 

Acidity 20 0.6 per cent-0.8 per cent. 

Body 10 Before breaking up : jelly-like, close, 

absence of gas holes. No free 
whey. After breaking up : 
smooth, creamy, free from gran- 
ules or flakes. 



52 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

The qualities mentioned in this score-card can be 
quickly and easily determined by examining and tasting 
the starter and by making an acid test of a sample. The 
acid test is conducted as with milk (see Chapter II) ex- 
cept the starter must be rinsed out of the pipette with 
pure water. Some starter score-cards call for a bacterial 
examination and counting of the starter organisms. This 
takes a considerable period of time and is not entirely 
necessary. The physical properties and acid test are 
closely correlated with the presence of the desired organ- 
isms. 

74. Use of starter. — If all milk could be clean and 
sweet and the only fermentation from it were the clean 
acid type, a starter would be useless. Such milk is hard 
to obtain ; therefore, a starter is used to overcome the bad 
fermentation. This improves the flavor, body and tex- 
ture of the cheese. The common contaminations which 
the starter will tend to correct are : 

1. Gas-producing bacteria. 

2. Yeasts. 

3. Bad flavors or taints. 

The length of time a starter may be carried depends 
on the accuracy and carefulness of the maker. This 
calls for scrupulous attention to the temperature, the 
selection of milk and keeping out contaminations. The 
maker must remember that a starter is not merely milk, 
but milk full of a multitude of tiny plants, very sensi- 
tive to food, temperature, clean surroundings and the 
quantity of their own acid. 

75. The amount of starter to use depends on the 
amount of acid desired in the milk for any particular 
kind of cheese. The great abuse of starter is the practice 



LACTIC STARTERS 53 



NEW YORK STATE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AT CORNELL 
UNIVERSITY 

STARTER LOT-CARD Department of Dairy Industry. 



Day and Date 

MILK: 

Kind % fat % solids not fat.- 

Flavor 

Amount of milk Hours old._ 



PASTEURIZATION : 

Method 

Milk when received : Temperature 

Acidity % 

Heating : Turning on heat APM. 

Desired temp, reached APM. 

Turning off heat APM. 

Length of time at desired temp — 

Beginning to cool 

Cooled .APM ; to 

Acidity : After pasteurization 

When inoculated 



INOCULATION: 

Time Temperature 

Amount -.. lbs % 

INCUBATION : 

Temperatvue Time 

MOTHER STARTER USED: 

Source % used..._ 

Times propagated Acidity..._ 

Amount used._ Appearance 

Flavor 

Comments.. - 

STARTER : 

Time of examining 

Temperature - 



Flavor 50 

Aroma 20 

Acidity 20 

Body._ 10 



Total 100 



SCORE-CARD : 

Clean, desirable acid. 

Clean, agreeable acid. No undesirable aroma. 

0.6%-0.75%. 

Before breaking up : jelly-like, close, absence of gas 

holes. No free whey. 
—After breaking up : smooth, creamy, free from granules 

or flakes. 



The above is a tentative score-card. 
COMMENTS : 



Work and observation "by.. 



54 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

of using too much. It is better and safer to add starter 
a little at a time and several times than to add too much 
at once. When starter is added to milk for cheese-making, 
it should be strained to remove any lumps ; otherwise an 
uneven color is likely to result. 

76. Starter lot-card. — For certain dairy operations, 
a permanent record is desired. This is especially true 
in the making of starter and certain varieties of cheese, 
A lot-card not only serves as a record but also points out 
the succeeding steps of the operation. This latter is 
especially useful for beginners and students. Page 53 
shows a desirable lot-card to be used when making 
starter. Each operation has been referred to the page 
in the text where it is discussed. This makes this 
particular lot-card an index to the whole process of starter- 
making as here treated. 



CHAPTER V 
CURD-MAKING 

Aside from the purely sour-milk cheeses, the coag- 
ulum or curd resulting from rennet action is the 
basis of cheese-making. The finished cheese, whatever 
its final condition, is primarily dependent on a particular 
chemical composition and fairly definite physical char- 
acters in the freshly made curd mass. These characters 
are determined by a series of factors under control of 
the cheese-maker. Assuming the milk to be normal in 
character, success depends on the use of a proper combina- 
tion of these factors. The possible variations in each 
factor together with their number makes an almost in- 
finite series of such combinations possible. The essential 
steps in the process are, therefore, presented as under- 
lying all cheese-making. The special adaptations of 
each factor are considered in the discussion of the vari- 
eties group by group. 

These factors follow : 

A. The coagulation group: 

1. Fat-content of the milk. 

2. The acidity of the milk. 

3. The temperature of renneting. 

4. The effective quantity of rennet. 

5. Curdling period or the time allowed for rennet 
action. 

55 



56 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

B. The handling group : 

6. Cutting or breaking the curd. 

7. Heating (cooking) or not heating. 

8. Draining (including pressing, grinding and 
putting into hoops or forms). 

77. The composition of the milk. — The fat percentage 
in the milk in the cheese-vat should be known to the 
cheese-maker and be strictly under his control. The fat 
tester and the separator make this clearly possible. He can 
go further. Milk from particular herds whose quality is 
a matter of record from the routine test of each patron's 
milk may be selected and brought together for the manu- 
facturer of cheese of special quality. Control of casein 
or lactose, on the contrary, is not nearly so practicable. 
The purchase of milk on the fat test has become so well 
established in most dairy territories, as to insure the 
presence and constant use of the tester. A fat test of the 
mixed product in the cheese- vat in connection with estab- 
lished tables thus insures an accurate knowledge of the 
materials which go into each day's cheese. For some 
varieties of cheese, whole milk should always be used. 
For other varieties, the addition or removal of fat is 
regularly recognized as part of the making process. The 
presence of added fat or the removal of fat affects the 
texture of the product and the details of the process of 
making. 

78. Cheese color. — An alkaline solution of annatto is 
usually used as a cheese color. This colors both casein 
and fat in contrast to butter color which is an oil solution 
of the dye and mixes only with the fat. Cheese color 
is added to the milk in making some varieties of 
cheese, and not for others. When lactic starter is used, 



CURD-MAKING 57 

the color should be added after the starter and just before 
the addition of the rennet. The amount is determined 
by the color desired in the cheese. The usual amount 
varies from one to four ounces to each thousand pounds 
of milk. Before adding, the color should be diluted in 
either milk or water, preferably water. It should then 
be mixed thoroughly with the milk. 

79. The acidity factor. — JNIilk as drawn shows a meas- 
urable acidity when titrated to phenolphthalein with 
normal sodium hydroxide. This figure varies with the 
composition of milk. Casein itself gives a weakly acid 
reaction with this indicator. Calculated as lactic acid, 
this initial acidity varies within fairly wide limits, records 
being found from 0.12 to 0.21 of one per cent or even more 
widely apart. .Commonly, however, such titration shows 
0.14 to 0.17 per cent. Some forms of cheese (Limburger, 
Swiss, Brie) are made from absolutely fresh milk. Acidity 
from bacterial activity is important as a factor in the 
making of most types of cheese and probably in the 
ripening of all types. 

Increasing the acidity of the milk hastens rennet action 
and within limits produces increased firmness of the curd. 
If carried too high, acidity causes a grainy or sandy curd. 
Normally fresh milk is sufficiently acid in reaction when 
tested to phenolphthalein to permit rennet to act, but 
the rate of action increases rapidly with the develop- 
ment of acid. Increase of acidity may be accomplished : 
(a) by the addition of acid as has been done by Sam- 
mis ^ and Bruhn in pasteurized milk for Cheddar 
cheese; or (b) by the development of acid through the 

1 Sammis, J. L., and A. T. Bruhn, The manufacture of cheese 
of the Cheddar type from pasteurized milk, U. S. Dept. Agr. 
Bur. An. Ind. Bui. 165, pages 1-95, 1913. 



58 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

activity of lactic orfi;anisms, which is the usual way. 
For rennetiiig, the acidity necessary for particular cheeses 
runs from that of absolutely fresh milk still warm (as 
in French Brie, Limburger, Swiss, Gorgonzola) through 
series calling for increase of acidity, hundredth by hun- 
dredth per cent calculated as lactic acid. This ranges 
from 0.17 to 0.20 per cent as is variously used in Ameri- 
can factory Cheddar to about 0.25 to 0.28 per cent as 
obtained by adding acid in Sammis' method. This 
method is discussed under the heading " Cheddar Cheese 
from Pasteurized Milk " (p. 229) since it requires special 
apparatus and has not thus far been used with other types 
of cheese. For the development of acidity by the action 
of bacteria, lactic starter is almost universally used. 
This may be added in very small quantities and the 
acidity secured by closely watching its development or 
by adding starter in amount sufficicmt to obtaiti the re- 
((uired acidity at once. In either case, the cheese-maker 
needs to know the rate of action of the culture to in- 
sure the proper control of the process. The amount of 
acid already present when the rennet is added affects not 
only the texture of the curd as first found, but within 
limits indicates also the rate at which further acidity may 
be expected to de^•cl()p. 

A series of experiments in making Roquefort were tabu- 
lated to show the rate of acidification from various initial 
])oints. In the graphs (Fig. 8) the curves for acid de- 
velopment are parallel after the determination reaches 
0.30 per cent. These experiments were made at a tem- 
I^erature 80° to 84° F. Milk at the lowest acidities tried 
developed titratable acid very slowly. A period of several 
hours was required to produce sufficient acid to affect the 
curd texture. When the acid reached 0.25 per cent by titra- 



CURD-MAKING 



59 



tion, the further rise was rapid and all the lines became 
almost straight and parallel after the titration reached 0.30 



.55 










/ 






45 






/ ^ 


/ 


1/, 






40 






// 


\j 




// 


/ 


.35 








// 


C^ 


^ 




.30 


^ 




/ /C^ 


/J^ 


Y 


/ 




.25 


/^^ 


^ y- 


y 






.20 


/^ 


^^^"l 




____ 


^ 


y^ 




^="=^ 


j— ■ 

1 
1 










15 




1 









Fig. 8. 



2 3 4 5 6 

• The acidification of Roquefort cheese. 



per cent. If this rapid souring occurred after the comple- 
tion of the cheese-making process, the texture of the 
experimental cheese was not measurably affected. In 
those cases, however, in which 0.30 per cent was reached 
before the cheese reached its final form in the hoop, the 



60 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

texture of the ripened cheese was entirely different from 
that desired for this variety under experiment. These 
curves apply directly to but one cheese process in which 
a particular combination of acidity, rennet and time is 
used to obtain a very delicately balanced result. In other 
varieties it is equally important to obtain exactly the ad- 
justment of these factors which will bring the desired result. 

80. Acidity of milk when received. — If proper care 
has been taken, milk should be delivered to the factory 
fresh, clean and without the development of acid. If 
the milk has not been handled properly, the early stages 
of souring or some other unfa^'orable fermentation will 
have de\'eloped. Such milk may develop too much 
acid, or gas, or any one of several objectionable flavors 
during the making and ripening of the cheese. Some 
cheese-makers become very expert in detecting the first 
traces of objectionable qualities, but most makers are 
dependent on standartlized tests to determine whether 
milk shall be accepted or rejected, and when accepted to 
determine the rate at which it may be expected to respond 
during the cheese-making process. 

Various tests have been devised to determine the 
amount of acid present in milk. There are two tests 
commonly used in cheese-factories. One is knowai as 
the " acid test " and the other the " rennet test." 

81. The acid test^ is made by titrating a known 
amount of milk (Fig. 9) against an alkali solution of 

^ Publow, C. A., An apparatus for measuring acidity in cheese- 
making and buttermaking, Cornell Exp. Sta. Cire. 7, pages 17— 
20, 1909. 

Hastings, E. G., and A. C. Evans, A comparison of the 
acid test and the rennet test for determining the condition of 
milk for the Cheddar tvpe of cheese, U. S. Dept. Agr. Bur. An. 
Ind. Circ. 210, pages 1-6, 1913. 



CURD-MAKING 



61 



known strength, using phenolphthalein as an Indi- 
cator. The object of the indicator is to tell the con- 
dition of the milk, whether it is acid, alkaline or neutral. 
The indicator does not change in an acid solution but 
turns pink when the solution is or becomes alkaline. 
To make the test, a known quantity of the material to 
be tested is placed in a 
white cup, and to this 
several drops of indicator 
are added. As an indi- 
cator, a 1 per cent solu- 
tion of phenolphthalein 
in 95 per cent alcohol is 
commonly used. As an 
alkali solution, sodium 
hydroxide (NaOH) is 
used in the standardized 
strength usually either 
tenth (N/10) normal or 
twentieth (N/20) normal. 
This solution should be 
obtained in some one of 
the standardized forms 
commercially prepared. 
The alkali is added, drop 
by drop, from a gradu- 
ated burette until a faint 

pink color appears. This shows that the acid in the 
milk has been neutralized by the alkali. The amount 
of alkali that has been used can be determined from the 
burette. Knowing the amount of milk and alkali solu- 
tion used, it is easy to calculate the amount of acid in 
the substance tested. The results are usually expressed 




Fig. 9. — An acid tester. 



62 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



either as percentages of lactic acid or preferably as cubic 
centimeters of normal alkali required to neutralize 100 
or 1000 c.c. of milk. This kind of test is on the market 
under different names, such as Mann's, Publow's, Far- 
rington's and INIarschall's. 

82. Rennet tests. — Several rennet tests have been 
devised, but the one most widely used is the Marschall 
(Fig. 10). This consists of a 1 c.c. pipette to measure 

the rennet extract, a small bottle in 
which to dilute the extract, a special 
cu]) to hold the milk and a spatula to 
mix the milk with the rennet extract. 
This cup has on 
^(^ the inside from 

top to bottom a 
scale graduated 
from at the top 
to 10 at the bot- 
tom. There is a 
hole in the bottom 
to allow the milk 
to run out. 

83. Marschall rennet test. — To make a Marschall 
rennet test, 1 c.c. of rennet extract is measured, with 
the 1 c.c. pipette, and placed in the bottle. Care 
should be exercised to rinse out the pipette. The bottle 
is then filled to the mark with cold water. After the 
milk has been heated to the setting temperature, 84°- 
86° F., the cup is filled with milk and set on the edge of 
the vat so that the milk running out through the hole 
in the bottom of the cup will flow into the vat. Just 
as the surface of the milk reaches the mark on the cup, 
the diluted rennet extract is added and thoroughly mixed 





Fiu. lU. — Marscliali rennet test. 



CURD-MAKING 63 

with the milk, using the small spatula to stir it. 
The rennet and milk should be mixed until it has run 
down at least one-half space on the scale in the cup. As 
the rennet begins to coagulate the milk, it runs slower 
from the hole in the bottom of the cup, until it finally 
stops. When it stops, the point on the scale indicated 
by the surface of the coagulated milk is noted. The 
test is recorded by the number of spaces the surface of 
the milk lowers from the time the rennet is added until 
it is coagulated. This test depends on three factors : 
the strength of the rennet extract, the temperature of 
the milk, the acidity of the milk. The more acid, the 
quicker the milk will coagulate. To measure any one 
of these factors, the other two must be constant. 
The variable factor is the acidity of the milk. This test 
will not indicate the percentage of acid in the milk, but is 
simply a comparative test to be used from day to day; 
for example, if the rennet test to-day shows three spaces, 
and the operator makes that milk into cheese and the 
process seems to be normal, it shows that for good results 
in this factory, milk should be ripened to show three 
spaces every day. If the next day the milk showed four 
spaces, it should be allowed to ripen more until it shows 
three spaces. If it shows only two spaces, this indicates 
that the milk has too much acid development or is over- 
ripe. A cheese-maker will have to determine at what 
point to set his milk, because the test will vary from one 
factory to another. 

84. Comparison of acid and rennet test. — Each of 
these tests has its advantages and disadvantages. The 
advantage of the acid test is that it can be made as 
well of warm as cold milk. This is of gr&at impor- 
tance in determining whether the milk delivered by any 



64 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

patron is too ripe to be received. The acidity of other 
materials, such as whey and starter, can be determined 
as well as that of milk. The disadvantages are that it 
is difficult to get the alkali solution of the proper strength 
and the solution is liable to deteriorate on standing. It 
requires a careful exact operator to make the test. 

The advantages of the rennet test are that it is easy to 
make, and it requires no materials that are hard to re- 
place. The disadvantage is that the milk must be 
warmed to the same temperature before a comparative 
test can be made. The size of the outlet in cups varies. 
It does not indicate the percentage of acid present in the 
milk. It is simply a comparative test. To obtain the 
best result, both tests should be used in conjunction. 

85. Control of acid. — The control of acidity in curd and 
cheese is dependent on the control of the moisture or 
water-content. The control of both factors is very impor- 
tant in relation to the quality ^ of the cheese. Often acid- 
ity is spoken of when moisture is realh' intended, and 
vice versa. The close relation between the moisture and 
acidity is due to the presence of the milk-sugar in solution 
in the milk-serum which becomes the whey of cheese- 
making. Water or moisture in cheese consists of the 
remnant of this whey which is not expelled in the making 
process. During manufacture and the ripening process, 
the milk-sugar is changed to lactic acid. A cheese may 
be sweet when first made and after a time become sour 
because it contains too much moisture in the form of 
whey. Excess of whey carries excess of milk-sugar 
from which fermentation produces intense acidity. 

^ Doane,. C. F., The influence of lactic acid on the quality of 
cheese of the Cheddar type, U. S. Dept. Agr. Bur. An. Ind. Bui. 
123, pages 1-20, 1910. 



CURD-MAKING 65 

Various tests have been devised to determine the 
amount of acid developed at the different stages of manu- 
facture. These tests are described on page 61. By the 
use of such tests, the development of acid during the 
manufacturing process can be very accurately determined. 
There is no quick, accurate test to determine the amount 
of moisture in the curd. The cheese-maker has to rely 
on his own judgment, guided largely by the appearance, 
feeling and condition of the curd. 

After the rennet extract has been added, all control 
of the acid development is lost. The cheese-maker can 
determine rather accurately how fast the acid will de- 
velop during the ripening of the milk. This shows the 
importance of the proper ripening. The amount of acid 
developed during the different stages of the manufactur- 
ing process can be approximately followed with the various 
acid tests. The manufacturing process should then be 
varied to obtain the proper relation between the moisture 
and the acid present. The only time that the acidity 
may be controlled is when the milk is being ripened. 
If too much acid is developed before the rennet is added, 
there is apt to be too much acid at each stage of the manu- 
facturing process. This is liable to hurry the cheese- 
making process and to cause a loss, both in quality and 
quantity of cheese, and may cause a high acid or sour 
cheese. If sufficient acid is not developed at the time 
the rennet is added or if the milk is not sufficiently ripened, 
the acid is liable not to develop fast enough so that there 
will not be sufficient at each step in the cheese-making 
process. Such a cheese is called " sweet." There are 
several conditions which will cause an over-development 
of acid. Such a cheese is called " acidy " or " sour." 
These factors are within the control of the cheese-maker. 



66 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

hence should be avoided. A sour cheese shows lack of 
skill and care on the part of the cheese-maker. 

Conditions causing an acidy or sour cheese: 

Receiving sour or high acid milk at the cheese-factory. 

Use of too much starter. 

Ripening the milk too much before the rennet is added. 

Removing the whey before the curd is properly firmed, 
hence leaving it with too much moisture. 

Development of too much acid in the whey before the 
whey is removed. 

Improper relationship between the moisture and acidity 
at the time of removing the whey. 

Conditions causing deficient acid: 

Adding the rennet before sufficient acid has developed. 

Not using sufficient starter. 

Not developing sufficient acid in the whey. 

86. Acidity and rennet action. — The rennet extract 
acts only in an acid medium. The greater the acid de- 
velopment, within certain limits, the faster the action of 
the rennet. If enough acid has developed to cause a 
coagulation of the casein, the rennet will not coagulate the 
milk. This is one reason why Cheddar cheese cannot 
be made from sour milk. 

87. Acidity and expulsion of the whey. — The con- 
traction of the curd and expulsion of the whey are so 
closely related that they may be treated under the 
same heading. The more acid, the faster the whey 
separates from the curd, other conditions being uniform. 
The relation of acidity and firmness of the curd to temper- 
ature of the curd is another important factor in the suc- 
cessful manufacture of cheese. The higher the acidity, 
the faster the temperature of the curd can be raised with- 



CURD-MAKING 67 

out any harmful effects. If the temperature is raised 
too fast in relation to the acidity, the film surrounding 
each piece of curd will become toughened so that the 
moisture will not be able to escape. When this condition 
exists, the curd will feel firm but when the pieces are 
broken open the inside is found to be very soft. This 
results in a large loss later or may cause a sour cheese. 
It usually causes an uneven texture and color in the cheese. 

88. Acidity in relation to cheese flavor. — Just what 
part the acid plays in the development of cheese flavor 
is not known. If a certain amount of acid is not present, 
the characteristic cheese flavor does not develop. If too 
much acid is developed, it gives the cheese a sour flavor 
which is unpleasant. If sufficient acid is not developed, 
the other undesirable factors seem to be more active, 
causing very disagreeable fla^'or and may cause the cheese 
to putrefy. A cheese with a low acid usually develops 
a very mild flavor, and if carried to extremes, as in the 
case of some washed curd cheese, the true cheese flavor 
never develops. 

89. Acidity in relation to body and texture of cheese. 
— If a cheese is to have a close, smooth, mellow^ silky 
body and texture, a certain amount of acid develop- 
ment is necessary. If too much acid is developed, the 
body and texture will be dry, harsh, sandy, mealy, 
corky. If the acid is not sufficient the cheese may be 
soft or weak bodied, and is usually characterized by 
" Swiss curd holes," which are spaces of various sizes 
usually more or less round and very shiny on the inside. 

90. Acidity in relation to cheese color. — An over- 
development of acidity affects the color of a cheese. If 
this development of acidity is uniform throughout the 
cheese, it causes the color to become pale or bleached. 



68 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

If this development is uneven, due to the uneven distri- 
bution of moisture, the color will be bleached in spots, 
causing a mottled effect. 

91. Control of moisture.^ — The cheese-maker must 
use skill and judgment in regulating the amount of mois- 
ture in relation to the firmness of the curd and the acid. 
Since there are no quick accurate tests to determine 
the amount of moisture, this is left entirely to the judg- 
ment of the operator. Certain methods of handling 
the curd reduce the moisture-content, while others in- 
crease it. The cheese-maker must decide how to handle 
the curd. If the curd becomes too dry, methods should 
be employed to increase the moisture, and vice versa. 

Causes of excessive moisture: 

Cutting the curd coarse. 

Cutting the curd after it has become too hard. 

Setting the milk at a high temperature. 

Use of excessive amount of rennet extract. 

Low acid in the curd at the time of removing the whey. 

Not stirring the curd with the hands as the last of the 
whey is removed. 

High piling of the curd during the cheddaring process. 

Piling the curd too quickly after removing the whey. 

Use of a small amount of salt. 

Holding the curd at too low a temperature after the 
whey is removed. 

Soaking the curd in water previous to salting. 

Allowing the curd to remain in the whey too long so 
that it reabsorbs the whey. 

Heating the curd too rapidly. 

^ Fisk, W. W., A study of some factors influencing the yield 
and moisture content of Cheddar cheese, Cornell Exp. Sta. Bui. 
334, 1913. 



CURD-MAKING 69 

Causes of insufficient moisture: 

Cutting the curd too fine or breaking up the pieces 
with the rake into too small pieces. 

Cutting the curd too soft. 

Stirring the curd too much by hand as the last of 
the whey is being removed. 

Developing high acid in the curd at the time of 
removing the whey. 

Insufficient piling of the curd during the cheddaring 
process. 

Using a large amount of salt. 

High temperature and low humidity in the curing 
room. 

92. Relation of moisture to manufacture and quality. 
— (1) Flavor: If the cheese contains too much moisture, 
it is likely to develop a sour or acidy flavor. A cheese 
with a normally high moisture-content usually ripens or 
develops a cheese flavor much faster than one with a 
lower moisture-content, other conditions being uniform. 
A cheese with a high moisture-content is much more 
liable, during the curing process, to develop undesirable 
flavors than is one with a lower moisture-content. (2) 
Body and texture: A cheese containing too much mois- 
ture is very soft and is difficult to hold in shape. Such 
a product breaks down very rapidly and is usually pasty 
and sticky in texture. If too little moisture is present, 
the cheese is very dry and hard, and cures or ripens very 
slowly because of the lack of moisture together with milk- 
sugar from which acid may be formed. Dry cheeses 
are usually harsh, tough and rubbery in texture. Such 
cheeses also have poor rinds. (3) Color: If the ideal 
conditions exist, the moisture will be evenly distributed 
throughout the cheese. The spots containing more 



70 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

moisture will be lighter in color. If a cheese con- 
tains so much moisture that it becomes " acidy," the 
effect is the same as when too much acid is developed, 
that is, the color becomes pale from the action of the 
acid. (4) Finish: A cheese containing too much moisture 
is usually soft. A good rind does not form. Such a 
cheese loses its shape very easily, especially in a warm 
curing room. (5) (Quality: A cheese with a high mois- 
ture-content is usually marketable for only a very short 
period. Such a product usually develops flavor very 
quickly in comparison to a dry cheese. It must be 
sold very soon because if held too long, the flavor be- 
comes so strong as to be undesirable, and objectionable 
flavors are liable to develop. In some cases, such 
cheeses rot. 

93. Relation of moisture to acidity. — From the pre- 
ceding discussion, it is evident that the relation between 
the moisture and acidity is very close, in fact so intimate 
that in some cases it is difficult to distinguish one from 
the other when the quality of the cheese is considered. 
The proper relation of the moisture and the acidity de- 
termines the quality of the resulting cheese. If too much 
acid is developed during the manufacturing process, the 
product will be sour. If too much moisture is retained 
in the form of whey, the cheese will be s'our. The less 
acid in the curd, the more moisture in the form of 
whey may be retained in the curd without causing a 
sour cheese. The proper relationship between the mois- 
ture and the acidity must be maintained or a sour cheese 
will result. 

The relation of the moisture to the acidity also has an 
influence on the curing. If the cheese has a low develop- 
ment of aciditv and a low moisture-content, it will cure 



CURD-MAKING 71 

very slowly. The increasing of either the acidity or 
moisture usually increases the rate of cheese ripening, 
other factors being the same. 

The relation of the acidity and the moisture is so im- 
portant that it cannot be neglected without injuring 
both the quality and quantity of cheese. This knowl- 
edge can be obtained only by experience. 

94. Setting temperature. — The temperature of ren- 
neting makes very much difference in the texture of 
the product. The enzyme rennin is sensitive to very 
slight changes in temperature. Below 70° F., its rate of 
action is very slow. Beginning with approximately 
20 per cent of its maximum effectiveness at 70° F. (the 
curdling point for Neufchatel), it has risen to 65 per cent 
at 84° F., to 70 per cent at 86° F., as used in Cheddar, 
to about 80 to 85 per cent at 90-94° F., as used in Lim- 
burger. At 105° F. it reaches its maximum effectiA-e 
working rate to fall from that efficiency to about 
50 per cent at 120° F. Curdling at low temperature 
lengthens the time required for the same amount of ren- 
net to curdle a given quantity of the same milk. The 
texture of ciu-d produced at temperatures between 70° F. 
and 84° F. is soft, jelly-like, friable rather than rubbery. 
At 86° F. it begins to show toughening or rubbery char- 
acters which become very marked at 90° F. to 94° F, 
as used in Limburger. With the increased vigor of 
action as it passes its maximum rate of action at 
105° F., the texture tends to become loose, floccose to 
granular. Aside from the Neufchatel group, the work- 
ing range of temperatures for the renneting period 
runs from about 84° F. to about 94° F., a range of 
barely 10° F., or the use of 65 per cent to 80 or pos- 
sibly 85 per cent of the maximum efficiency of the 



72 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

rennet. Within this range of temperature, the curd has 
the physical characters demanded for making most vari- 
eties of cheese. 

95. Strength of coagulating materials. — Rennet and 
pepsin preparations vary in strength and in keeping 
quality. With a particular stock, changes go on to such 
a degree that the last samples from a barrel of rennet are 
much weaker than the earlier ones. Each sample, barrel, 
keg or bottle should be tested before used. In continuous 
work the results of each day's work furnish the guide for 
the next day's use of a particular lot of rennet. 

96. Amount of coagulating materials to use. — For 
most varieties of cheese, sufficient rennet extract or 
pepsin is added to the milk to give a firm curd in twenty- 
five to forty minutes. Of the ordinary commercial rennet 
extract, this requires from two and one-half to four 
ounces to one thousand pounds of milk. This gives a 
maximum of one part rennet for each four to six thousand 
parts of milk. The great strength of the rennet extract 
is thus clearly shown. 

97. Method of adding rennet. — Before rennet is 
added to the milk, it is diluted in about forty times its 
volume of cold water, which chills the enzyme and retards 
its action until it can be thoroughly mixed with the milk. 
If the material is added without such dilution, the 
concentrated extract produces instant coagulation in 
the drops with which it comes in contact, forming solid 
masses from which the enzyme escapes only slowly to 
diffuse throughout the mass. Uniform coagulation thus 
becomes impossible. After the rennet extract has been 
diluted w^ith cold water, it should be distributed the 
entire length of the vat in an even stream from a pail. 
It should then be mixed with the milk by stirring from 



CURD-MAKING 73 

top to bottom for about three to four minutes. For 
this purpose, either a long-handled dipper or a wooden 
rake may be used. A dipperful should be drawn from 
the gate and stirred into the vat, otherwise the milk in 
the gate will fail to coagulate properly because the rennet 
diffuses too slowly to reach and affect all the milk at that 
point. The milk should be stirred on the top, preferably 
with the bottom of a dipper, until signs of coagulation 
begin to appear. This stirring keeps the cream from 
rising. There are various ways or signs to indicate 
when the coagulation has gone to the stage at which 
the mix is about to become thick : (1) The milk becomes 
lazy or thicker as the finger is passed through it; (2) 
bubbles caused by moving the finger remain on the milk 
longer, usually until one can count ten when ready to 
thicken. 

If the milk is stirred too long or after it begins to thicken, 
the result is a granular sort of curd, and there will be an 
abnormally large loss of fat in the manufacturing process. 
The addition of the rennet and subsequent stirring re- 
quire the exercise of great care and constant attention to 
details. The cheese-maker can do nothing else for those 
few minutes. When through stirring, it is a good plan 
in cold weather to cover the vat with a cloth as this will 
keep the surface of the curd warm. In summer the same 
cover will keep out the flies. 

Causes of a delayed coagidation : 

(1) Weak rennet extract or too small an amount. 

(2) Low temperatures due to inaccurate thermometers. 

(3) Pasteurized milk. 

(4) Presence of abnormal bacterial ferments. 

(5) Presence of preservatives. 



74: THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

(6) Heavily watered milk. 

(7) Use of badly rusted ^ cans. 

(8) IVIilk containing small amounts of casein or cal- 
cium salts. 

Causes of uneven coagulation: 

(1) Uneven temperature of the mix in the vat, due 
to lack of agitation. 

(2) Uneven distribution of the rennet extract. 

(3) Adding rennet to vat too soon after heating, while 
the sides and bottom are still hot, causes curd to stick 
to sides and bottom of the vat making cutting difficult. 

(4) Sloshing after the milk begins to thicken breaks 
the curd and causes it to whey off. 

98. The curdling period. — The time allowed for 
rennet action also afi'ects the texture of the curd. The 
enzymes of rennet (rennin and pepsin) do not cease acting 
with the thickening of the milk. In many cheeses, the 
handling process begins as soon as the curd has become 
solid enough to split cleanly before a finger thrust into 
it. If let stand further, the same curd mass will con- 
tinue to harden with the progressive separation of whey; 
this shows first as drops (" sweating ") on its surface, 
which then increase in number and size until they run 
together and form a sheet of whey. The limit of such 
action is difl&cult to measure. The solidifying process 
ceases in a period of hours. The further action of the 
enzymes is digestive in character and goes on slowly. It 
requires a period of weeks or even months to accomplish 
measurable results at the working temperatures in use 
in the trade. Other ripening agents with more rapid 

^ Olson, G. A., Rusty cans and their effect upon milk for 
cheese-making, Wis. Exp. Sta. Bui. 162, pages 1-12, 1908. 



CURD-MAKING 75 

action intervene to shape the final result. It follows 
that the rennet factor in the ripening changes found at 
the end of the period is almost negligible for most varieties 
of cheese, although it appears to be measurable in some 
varieties. 

99. Cutting or breaking ^ the curd. — As soon as curd 
is formed, separation of whey begins upon the surface 
and perhaps around the sides of the vessel. This is 
accompanied by shrinkage and hardening of the mass. 
If the curd remains unbroken, the separation is extremely 
slow. In cheese-making practice, such curd masses may 
be dipped at once into hoops as in Camembert, dumped 
in mass into cloths for drainage as in Neufchatel or, as 
in the larger number of cheeses, cut or broken in some 
characteristic manner. After the curd mass is firm, the 
rate at which subsequent changes take place depends 
largely on the size of the particles into which the curd is 
cut. The smaller the particles, the quicker the water is 
expelled. Consequently the development of the acidity 
and other changes take place more slowdy. For this 
reason the curd should be cut into pieces of uniform size. 
If the work is not properly performed, the pieces of curd of 
various sizes will be at different stages of development. 
The fine particles will be firm and elastic while the larger 
particles are still soft and full of whey and may be de- 
veloping too much acid. The knives should be inserted 
into the curd obliquely so that they will cut their way 

1 The term " broken " is included here because the use of some 
curd-breaking tool has always formed a step in certain com- 
mercially successful processes. In every case in which careful 
experimental work has been done the curd knife has been suc- 
cessfully substituted for the breaking tool and has reduced the 
losses of fat and casein and in addition aided in obtaining more 
uniform cheese. 



76 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

into the curd and not break it. The horizontal knife 
is used lengthwise of the vat and cuts the curd into layers 
of uniform thickness. The perpendicular knife then is 
used lengthwise and crossw^ise of the vat. It first cuts 
the curd into strips and then into cubes. The knives 
may have wire blades or steel blades, some operators 
preferring one and some the other. Whichever is used, 
the blades should be close enough together to give the 
fineness of curd desired. 

After the knife passes through, the cut faces quickly 
become covered with a smooth coating, continuous 
over all exposed areas. This surface has the ap- 
pearance of a smooth elastic coating or film. This 
can be seen by carefully breaking a piece in the 
hand. It is this film which holds the fat within the 
pieces of curd. If the film is broken, some of the fat 
globules are lost because the rennet extract acts only 
on the casein and that in turn holds the fat. All the 
fat globules which come in contact with the knives as 
they pass through the curd will be left between the 
pieces of curd and will pass off in the w^hey. If care is 
exercised in cutting, the loss of fat will be confined to what 
may be called a mechanical loss. This is similar to the 
loss of the sawdust when sawing a board. This loss in 
American Cheddar is about 0.3 per cent and cannot be 
avoided. If it is greater than this, it is due to negligence 
on the part of the cheese-maker or the poor condition of 
the milk. The cutting of the curd into small pieces may 
be considered a necessary evil. If the moisture could 
be expelled from the whole mass without disturbing it, 
this fat loss could be prevented. The cutting, breaking 
or turning should be done wath the greatest care, that 
the loss may be as small as possible. 



CURD-MAKING 



77 



100. Curd knives. — For cutting curd, special knives 
have been devised (Fig. 11). They consist of series of 
parallel blades fixed in a frame to make cuts equidistant. 
The blades run \'ertically in one, horizontally in another. 




Horizontal Perpendicular Horizontal Perpendicular 

Fig. 11. — Blade and wire furd knives. 

They are spaced according to the demands of the variety 
of cheese to be made. Wires stretched in a frame take 
the place of blades in some makes of curd knife. 

101. Heating or "cooking." — Curdling by rennet 
has already been shown to be markedly hastened by 
moderate heating. After the coagulum or curd is 
formed, the making process may be completed without 
the application of further heat, as in Neufchatel, 
Camembert and related forms (Fig. 12) and in some 
practices with Limburger. In other forms and especially 
in the hard cheeses in which cutting of curd is a prominent 



78 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



part of the process, the curd after being cut is reheated 
cooked." The cooking process hastens the removal 



or 



of the whey, thus shortening the time required to reduce 




Fig. 12. 



2545 

■ The heat relation. See pages 77 and 87. 



the water-content of the mass to the percentage most 
favorable for the type of cheese desired. The process 
also produces marked changes in the physical character 



CURD-MAKING 79 

of the curd mass. With the rise in temperature the casein 
becomes elastic first, then approaches a melting condition 
and assumes a tough, almost rubbery consistency. The 
final texture is the result of the combination of the 
amount of rennet added, the temperature, the acidity 
reached during the process, and the final water-content 
of the mass. 

102. Draining (including grinding, putting into hoops 
or forms and pressing) . — The reduction of the water 
in the curd begins almost as soon as the curd becomes 
firm. It is aided by cutting or breaking, by the retention 
of the heat applied before renneting and by the second- 
ary heating or cooking used in making certain groups of 
cheeses. In many varieties special apparatus is provided 
in the form of draining boards, draining racks or bags 
to hasten the removal of the whey as fast as it separates. 
The draining process continues until the cheese has 
reached its final form and weight. The intervening 
process of matting in the Cheddar group involves a com- 
bination of a souring process with the removal of whey, 
during which the cubes of curd become fused into semi- 
solid masses. If such masses are formed, they must be 
ground up before the cheese can be gi\'en its final form 
in the hoop. The draining process, therefore, may take 
any one of many forms varying from the direct transfer 
of freshly formed curd into hoops in which the entire 
draining process is completed, to an elaborate series of 
operations which end in pressing curd drained to approxi- 
mately its final condition before it is placed in the hoop. 

103. Application to cheese. — From the discussion of 
these factors, it is evident that the cheeses produced 
will dift'er widely with the differences in manipulation. If 
one considers essential constituent substances separately, 



80 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

the water-content of the finished product is found 
to vary from 30 per cent in Parmesan to 75 per cent 
in cottage cheese. The fat-content runs from a trace 
in some varieties to 60 per cent in some cream cheeses. 
The texture of the casein, which gives character to the 
product, varies from the tough or gkie-like consistency 
of freshly made Swiss to the buttery condition of a cream 
or Neufchatel cheese. Inside such Hmits the tastes of 
different peoples have led to the manufacture of many 
kinds of cheese. Each of these varieties represents some 
particular combination of curd-making factors and 
ripening conditions which produces a cheese suited to 
the taste of the maker and consumer of that country or 
community. 



CHAPTER VI 
CLASSIFICATION 

The literature of cheese-making contains reference 
to more than 500 names for varieties of cheese. Many 
of these can be thrown readily into great groups or fam- 
ilies in which there are variations in unessential detail 
without modifying the characteristic texture and flavor 
of the product. Many ^'arietal names are attached to 
the product of single factories or factory groups. Such 
varieties frequently differ only slightly in size or shape, 
or in stage of drainage or of ripening, from widely known 
varieties or other similar local forms. The descriptions 
recorded for such varieties commonly emphasize minor 
differences in manipulation without showing differences 
in essential factors. Vessels of particular size are pre- 
scribed to be made of wood, earthenware, or of a special 
metal. These details specify the exact size and shape of 
hoops, the use of particular styles of cutting or breaking 
instruments and of certain stirring tools, the material 
and construction of mats and draining racks. 

The descriptions themselves are very commonly in- 
adequate. The variable factors in cheese-making are 
fat-content of the milk, acidity, temperature of setting, 
amount of rennet, time allowed for curdling and the 
method of draining the curd. The differences in practice 
lie, with few exceptions, in the amount or intensity of 
particular factors, not differences in kind or quality of 
G 81 



82 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

treatment. ' Such contrasts are quantitative, not qualita- 
tive. A great number of combinations is possible by 
small variations of these factors. 

Varieties selected as types of groups give marked con- 
trasts in character, but comparison of large numbers of 
forms shows that almost every gradation from group to 
group can actually be found. Within groups frequently 
the same physical results in texture and flavor can be 
obtained by combinations or adjustments of factors 
for the purpose of offsetting or counteracting the effects 
of one change in practice by the manipulation of other 
factors. In ripening, an equally large range of practices 
makes possible the development of very different qual- 
ities in mature cheeses from the same lot. 

Only a few of the large number of described varieties 
have obtained even national importance ; fewer still 
are known outside the country of origin. In spite of the 
success of special products when properly advertised, 
the largest place in the market is clearly accorded to 
the standard forms which are widely known. 

104. Basis of classification. — A series of these widely 
known forms has been chosen as typical of groups in a 
system of classification adapted from the French of Pouriau. 
No completely satisfactory scheme of classifying all of these 
varieties has been devised. The grouping proposed here is 
based on the principles of curd-making already discussed 
together with consideration of the ripening processes to be 
discussed with each group. The factors that actually 
influence the quality of the final product are separated as 
completely as possible from non-essential operative details. 

The common use of the terms " soft " and " hard " 
cheese is based on the single arbitrary fact of texture. 
The term " semi-hard " cheese may be conveniently 



CLASSIFICATION 83 

applied to a miscellaneous group of unrelated families 
which are intermediate in texture between such soft 
forms as Neufchatel or Camembert and really hard 
cheeses like Cheddar or Parmesan. Although these 
terms are not made the main basis of the proposed 
grouping, their application to sections is indicated. 
Classification based on the essential facts of manufac- 
ture is, however, really helpful. 

Analytical Tabulation of Groups 

Section. I. Cheeses with sour milk flavor only (Eaten fresh). 
(Soft cheeses 45 to 75% water) Page 

1. Curdled by souring, Cottage cheese and 

its allies in America, many related 
varieties in Europe 90 

2. Curdled by souring and rennet — the 

Neufchatel group 95 

a. Skim — Skim-milk NeufchS.tel . . . 105 

b. Part skim to whole milk — American or 

Domestic Neufchatel 106 

c. With fat added — the cream cheeses of 

the NeufchS,tel group (both American 
and European) — such as Cream, Ger- 

vais, Malakoffs, etc 108 

Section II. Cheeses ripened. 

Subsection A. Soft cheeses (40 to 50% water). 

1. Curdled by souring, heated, then 

ripened. 
Hand cheese, Pennsylvania pot 

cheese, Harz, etc 112 

2. Curdling by souring and rennet, 

ripened 
Ripened (French) Neufchgltel . . 114 

3. Curdled primarily by rennet. 

■ a. Ripened by mold — Camembert, 

Brie and their allies . . . 117 
6. Ripened by bacteria. 

* Made from soft or friable curd 

— d'Isigny, Liederkranz, etc. 134 
** Made from firm or tough curds 

— Limburger and allies . . 139 



84 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

Subsection B. Semi-hard cheeses, firm, well-drained 

(38 to 45% water). Page 

a. Curd not cooked, ripened by molds. 

* Made from friable curd — 

Roquefort 150 

** Made from firm or tough curd 
— Gorgonzola, Stilton and 
such French forms as Gex, 
Septmoncel 158 

b. Curd cooked and ripened by bac- 

teria, — brick, Munster, Port 

du Salut (Oka) 164 

Subsection C. Hard cheeses, cooked and pressed (30 to 
40% water). 

a. Ripened without gas holes. 

1. Dutch — Edam, Gouda ... 173 

2. Danish. 

3. The Cheddar group. 

* English — Cheddar and numer- 

ous related forms known 
principally in Great Britain 184 
** American — the factory Ched- 
dar of United States and 
Canada 184 

b. Ripened with the development of 

gas holes. 

* Holes large — Swiss-Emmen- 

thal, Gruyere, American 

S^\dss 276 

** Holes small — ^ Parmesan and 

related varieties .... 288 

Such a classification brings together series of products 
in which there is essential similarity in the final output, 
however great the differences in manipulation. It does 
not consider all varieties and specialties. Some of these 
groups are important enough to demand special mention. 

105. Processed cheeses. — Cheese of any group may 
be run through mixing and molding machines and re- 
packaged in very different form from that characteristic 
of the variety. In such treatment, the texture and 



CLASSIFICATION ^ 85 

appearance may be so changed as to give the effect of a 
new product. Substances (such as pimiento) are added 
to change the flavor. Or the product may be canned 
and steriUzed with equally great change of flavor and tex- 
ture. One thus finds Club made from Cheddar; Pimi- 
ento from Cream, Neufchatel or Cheddar ; similarly 
olive, nut and other combinations are made. The 
possible variations are numerous. 

106. Whey cheeses. — Several products bearing cheese 
names are made from whey. These take the forms of 
the recovery of the albumin and casein separately or in 
a single product, and the recovery of the milk-sugar 
either alone or with the albumin. Whey cheeses have 
been especially developed by the Scandinavian people, 
although some of them have their origin in the south of 
Europe. Certain of these varieties are produced on a 
limited scale in America. 

There are a number of forms fairly widely known that 
are difficult to place in this scheme of groups. Among 
these are Caciocavallo, Sap Sago. 

107. Soft and hard cheeses. — Another commonly 
used classification makes two groups : (1) soft cheeses ;'' 
(2) hard cheeses. In such a classification the semi-hard 
group presented here is included with the soft cheeses. 
Some cheeses of this group are soft in texture. This is 
correlated with high water-content, high fat-content or 
both together. 

108. Relation of moisture to classes. — In this classi- 
fication the water-content reflected in the texture of the 
cheese assumes first place. To carry the analysis some- 
what further by showing the correlation between water- 
content and certain factors, a tabulation of well-known 
varieties of typical groups is presented (Table III). In 



86 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



this table the series of typical dairy products are first 
arranged according to water-content of the final product. 
Approximate limits of percentages of milk-fat are also 
given, because milk-fat frequently affects texture to 
a degree almost equal to water. Column 4 gives the 
period within which the more quickly perishable cheeses 
are usable, and the length of the ripening for the more 
solid forms. The correlation between water-content, 
texture and the time of keeping is clearly shown for most 
varieties. 



TABLE III 

Correlation Water- and Fat-Content with Ripening 





Per 


Per 


Period 


Ripening 


Variety of 


Cent 
Water 


Cent 

Fat 


Required 


Agent 


Cheese: Soft, 










Cottage .... 


70 


trace 


a few days 


Bacteria 


Skim Neufchatel . 


70 


trace 


a few days 


Bacteria 


Neufchatel . . . 


50-60 


12-28 


a few days 


Bacteria 


Camembert . 


50 


22-30 


3-5 weeks 


Molds 


Cream cheese 


40-50 


35-45 


a few days 


Primarily 
bacteria 


Semi-hard : 










Limburger . . . 


40-45 


24-30 


3-6 months 


Bacteria 


Roquefort . . . 


38-40 


31-34 


3-6 months 


Mold 


Brick 


37-42 


31-35 


3-6 months 


Bacteria 


Hard: 










Cheddar .... 


30-39 


32-36 


6-12 months 


Bacteria 


Swiss 


31-34 


28-31 


9-18 months 


Bacteria 

and yeasts 


Parmesan . . . 


30-33 




2-3 years 


Bacteria 



The soft cheeses are quickly perishable products. 
Bacteria and molds find favorable conditions for growth 



CLASSIFICATION 87 

in products with 45 to 75 per cent of water. If such 
growth is permitted, enzymic activities follow quickly 
with resultant changes in appearance, texture, odor 
and taste. Refrigeration is necessary to transport such 
cheeses to the consumer, if properly ripened. Trade in 
these forms may continue throughout the year in cool 
climates and in places where adequate refrigeration is 
available. Practically, however, outside the large cities 
this trade in America is at present limited to the cold 
months ; inside the large cities much reduced quantities 
of these cheeses continue to be handled through the year. 

In the stricter sense, the soft group of cheeses falls 
naturally into two series: (1) the varieties eaten fresh; 
and (2) the ripened soft cheeses. Those eaten fresh have 
a making process which commonly involves the develop- 
ment of a lactic acid flavor by souring, but no ripening 
is contemplated after the product leaves the maker's 
hands. In the ripened series, after the making process 
is completed, the essential flavors and textures are de- 
veloped by the activity of micro-organisms during ripen- 
ing periods varying in length but fairly well-defined for 
each variety. 

In contrast to the soft cheeses, the hard kinds are 
low in water-content, ripen more slowly and may be 
kept through much longer periods. They retain their 
form through a wider range of climatic conditions. They 
develop flavor slowly and correspondingly deteriorate 
much more slowly. Such cheeses are in marketable con- 
dition over longer periods. In their manufacture the 
cooking of the curd takes a prominent place. 

109. Relation of heat to classes. — The close relation 
between the heat applied and the product sought forms 
the basis of a striking series of graphs (Fig. 12, page 78). 



88 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

These show the changes hour by hour in the heat relation 
during the making process of a series of widely known 
forms, each of which is chosen as typical. In. some of 
these forms, heat is applied but once to bring the milk 
to the renneting temperature typical for the variety. 
Subsequent manipulations are accompanied by a steady 
fall in temperature. In other forms, the curd when 
solid is specially heated or " cooked " to bring about 
the changes characteristic of the variety. These con- 
trasts are clearly brought out by the graphs which rep- 
resent practices well recognized for the varieties. The 
detailed process for these groups is considered in suc- 
ceeding chapters. 



CHAPTER VII 
CHEESES WITH SOUR-MILK FLAVOR 

The cheeses with flavor of sour milk are probably more 
widely used than any other group. Historically and to 
a very large degree at present, they are farm cheeses.^ 
No estimate of volume of such production in the house- 
hold has ever been made. The utilization of surplus 
milk in this way is of ancient origin. 

With the introduction of the factory system of han- 
dling milk, the manufacture of such cheese in the house- 
hold was largely dropped. The rise in price of all food 
substances and increasing appreciation of the food value 
of milk products have made the recovery of all surplus 
milk in some form very necessary. The manufacture 
of cottage, Neufchatel and cream cheese is fene of the 
best forms of such recovery which may be adapted to 
utilize any grade from skimmed-milk to cream. Large 
quantities of skimmed-milk have frequently been lost 
from the total of human food by the manufacture of 
casein for industrial uses, and by use as stock feed. 

110. Skim series. — The kinds of cheeses eaten fresh 
have in common a very soft texture and the flavor of 

^ Frandsen, J. H., and T. Thorsen, Farm cheese-making, Univ. 
Neb. Ext. Serv. Bui. 47, pages 1-lG, 1917. 

Michels, J., Improved methods for maldng cottage and 
Neufchatel cheese, N. C. Exp. Sta. Bui. 210, pages 29-38. 

Fisk, W. W., Methods of making some of the soft cheeses, 
Cornell Exp. Sta. Circ. 30, pages 41-62, 1915. 

89 



90 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

sour milk, principally lactic acid. The group falls natu- 
rally into two sections : (1) the cheeses made from milk 
curdled by souring ; (2) those for which the milk is curdled 
by souring and rennet. In the latter group both agencies 
are necessary to the resulting product. The time required 
to curdle by souring alone is longer than when rennet 
is used ; this period is usually longer than necessary for 
the cream to rise by gravity ; hence the cream is either 
skimmed off or removed with the separator beforehand. 
The curd, therefore, is essentially a skimmed-milk curd. 
Casein curdled in this way tends to become granular 
or " rough," to feel " sandy " when rubbed between the 
fingers. Heating is commonly necessary to lower the 
water-content of the mass even to 75 per cent. Such 
curd tends to become hard or rubbery when heat is ap- 
plied. In this group, the best known form is variously 
called " cottage " cheese, " clabber " cheese, schmier- 
kase. 

111. Cottage cheese is made from skimmed-milk, 
soured by lactic bacteria until a curd is formed. This 
is done preferably at about 20° C. (70° F.), because at 
this temperature the purely lactic type of organism has 
been found to outgrow competing forms which may be 
present. Starter containing the desired culture, if prop- 
erly used, saves much time in the curdling period. Such 
curdling requires at least twelve to twenty-four hours, 
frequently much longer unless abundant starter is intro- 
duced. 

112. Household practice. — The details of cottage 
cheese making in the home differ widely in separate sec- 
tions and even in different families in the same part 
of the country. The essentials of the practice, common 
to all, include : (1) curdling the whole milk by natural 



CHEESES WITH SOUR- MILK FLAVOR 91 

souring; (2) removing the sour cream which is usually 
used for butter-making ; (3) scalding the curdled skimmed- 
milk either by slowly heating it in the original vessel 
surrounded by hot water or by actually pouring an 
approximately equal volume of boiling water into the 
curdled mass ; (4) bagging and draining the mass until 
it reaches the desired texture; (5) the kneading of the 
mass with the addition of salt and cream. The result- 
ing product varies greatly in quality. Unfavorable fer- 
mentations frequently affect the flavor.^ The " scalding " 
varies from a temperature of 90° F. almost to boiling 
with a resultant texture varying from almost the smooth 
buttery consistency of Xeufchatel to hard coarse granular 
lumps. The best practice, using clean well-cared-for 
milk and draining at low temperature, produces a very 
attractive cheese. Such cheese is heated to 90° to 100° F. 
on the maker's judgment, drained carefull}^ kneaded well 
by hand or by machine with the addition of cream to give 
it an attractive texture and flavor. 

113. Factory practice. — When cottage cheese is made 
in the factory,^ separated milk is taken ; it should be 
pasteurized and then soured by a lactic starter. The 
souring can be accelerated by the use of a starter, which 
may be added at the rate of 0.5 to 5 per cent of the 
skimmed-milk used, depending on the amount of starter 
that can be made. Generally, the more starter added, 
the more rapid will be the coagulation and the better 
will be the flavor of the cheese. As soon as the milk 
has thickened, the curd is ready to be broken up and 

^ Tolstrup, R. M., Cheese that farmers should make, Iowa 
Agr. 15 (1914), 2, pages 89-90. 

2 Van Slyke, L. L., and Hart, E. B., Chemical changes in the 
souring of milk and their relations to cottage cheese, N. Y. 
(Geneva) Exp. Sta. Bui. 245, pages 1-36, 1904. 



92 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

separated from the whey. This separation is hastened 
by the apphcation of heat. Usually the temperature 
of the curd is raised slightly before it is broken up ; since 
this makes the curd firmer, there will be a smaller loss of 
curd particles in the whey. The curd may be cut with 
coarse Cheddar cheese knives or broken with a rake. 
The temperature of the curd should be raised very slowly, 
at least thirty minutes being taken to reach the desired 
final temperature. No set rule can be given as to the 
exact temperature to which the curd should be heated. 
The temperature should be raised until a point is reached 
at which the curd, when pressed between the thumb and 
the fingers, will stick together and not go back to the 
milky state. This temperature is usually from 94° to 
100° F., but the cheese-maker must use his own judgment 
in this respect. If the curd is heated too much, it will 
be hard and dry; on the other hand, if it is not heated 
sufficiently, the whey will not separate from the curd and 
the latter will be very soft and mushy. 

When the curd has been heated sufficiently and has 
become firmed in the whey, it should be removed from 
the whey. This may be done either by letting down one 
end of the ^•at and piling the curd in the upper end, or 
by dipping out the curd into a cloth bag and allowing the 
whey to drain, which it does very rapidly. No treatment 
can prevent the " roughness " of an acid curd (this is 
a fine gritty feeling when rubbed between the fingers), 
but the coarse hard grainy texture and lumps charac- 
teristic of the highly heated curd do not develop. 
Experimental workers have agreed that to have the 
proper texture, such curd should contain when finished 
about 70 to 75 per cent of water. It should have a mild 
but clean acid flavor. Such a cheese will carry about 1 



CHEESES WITH SOUR- MILK FLAVOR 93 

to 2 per cent of salt, without an objectionably salty 
taste. This cheese is commonly sold by measure, some- 
times in molds or cartons. The manufacture of all forms 
of cottage cheese has been largely superseded by the 
making of skimmed-milk Neufchatel or Baker's cheese. 

The yield from one hundred pounds of skimmed-milk 
runs up to fourteen to nineteen pounds of cheese, when 
made very wet or from pasteurized milk. The yield 
varies with the moisture-content of the cheese, being 
greater for cheese with a high content. Too much 
moisture or whey should not be left in the curd, how- 
ever, as this will render it too soft to be handled. 

Cottage cheese made by either the home or factory 
practice is a quickly perishable article. Although the 
acid restrains bacteria at first, the high percentage of 
water favors the growth of molds which tolerate acidity, 
especially Oidium (Oospora) lactis and the Mucors or 
black molds. These molds destroy acidity rapidly and 
thus permit the bacteria of decay to develop and to 
produce objectionable taste and odors. Spoilage in 
these products is accelerated by the kneading process 
which distributes air throughout the mass and with it 
all forms of microbial contamination. 

114. Buttermilk cheese. — A cheese closely resembling 
cottage may be made from buttermilk. If the buttermilk 
came from cream which was churned before it became 
sour, the process is the same as that already described 
for the making of cottage cheese from skimmed-milk. If 
the buttermilk came from sour cream the process of 
manufacture is much more difficult. The casein of sour 
cream has already been coagulated with acid and broken 
during churning into very minute rather hard particles. 
These fine particles are difficult to recover. They are so 



94 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

fine that they pass through the draining cloth or at 
other times clog it and prevent drainage. They do not 
stick together at ordinary temperatures. They cannot 
be collected by the use of acid because they have already 
been coagulated with acid. After casein has been 
coagulated with acid, rennet extract will not recoagu- 
late the particles. The buttermilk may be mixed with 
sweet skimmed-milk ; then as the latter coagulates, it locks 
in the casein of the buttermilk so that it can be collected. 
If buttermilk from soured cream is used alone, the casein 
may be collected^ by neutralizing and heating to 130 
to 150° F., and holding until the casein gathers together. 
The whey can then be drawn ott'. Often there is further 
difficulty in getting the casein to collect, since the pieces 
remain so small that they go through the strainer. 

Cheese made entirely from buttermilk is sandy in 
texture and often not palatable. If the buttermilk with 
good fla\or is mixed with skimmed-milk, it makes a good 
cheese closely resembling cottage. 

115. Neufchatel group. "^ — The Neufchatel process 
originated in northern France where a number of varieties 
are included under this as a group name. Among these 
are Bondon, INIalakoft', Petit Suisse, Petit Carre. The 
name designates a general process of curd-making which 
is applied to skimmed-milk, whole milk or cream. Some of 
the resultant cheeses are ripened ; some are eaten fresh. 
The Neufchatel cheeses of France gained such wide recog- 
nition for quality that the process of making has become 
widely known. In America the manipulations of the 

^ Sammis, J. L., Three creamery methods for making butter- 
milk cheese. Wis. Exp. Sta. Bui. 239, 1914. 

- Matheson, K. J., C. Thom and J. N. Currie, Cheeses of 
the Neufchatel group. Conn. (Storrs) Exp. Sta. Bui. 78, pages 
313-329, 1914. 



CHEESES WITH SOUR-MILK FLAVOR 95 

French process were early dropped. The essentials were 
made the basis of a successful factory practice which 
has been widely adopted. The American factory prac- 
tice is discussed here and the French process briefly 
considered under the heading Ripened Neufchatel. (See 
Chapter VIII.) 

116. Domestic or American Neufchatel cheeses are 
soft, have clean sour milk (lactic acid) flavor and are 
quickly perishable. In all but the coldest weather, they 
require refrigeration to reduce deterioration and loss. 
They range in fat-content from traces only to 50 per 
cent and more ; in water from 40 to 75 per cent, accord- 
ing to the milk used. In texture Neufchatel is smooth, 
free from gas, free from lumps or roughness when rubbed 
between the fingers. This flavor and texture is obtained 
by a combination of slow rennet curdling with develop- 
ing acidity. No further ripening is permitted. 

117. The factory. — Neufchatel factories require 
the standard dairy equipment for receiving, weighing, 
testing, separating, heating, pasteurizing and cooling the 
milk. Since many factories produce several products, 
the same general dairy equipment may serve for all. In 
addition to such equipment, Neufchatel requires a cur- 
dling apparatus which can be held at 70-75° F. This 
may be a room properly controlled, or a tank where tem- 
perature control is obtained by water and steam. For 
draining, a room kept at 60° F. gives nearly the ideal 
temperature, which must be supplemented by relative 
humidity high enough to prevent the exposed surface of 
curd from drying during periods of twelve to twenty-four 
hours. This requires almost a saturated atmosphere. 
A room with special molding machinery is required and 
tables for wrapping, labeling and boxing the product 



96 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 




CHEESES WITH SOUR-MILK FLAVOR 



97 



are necessary. Box-making machinery is usually an 
economic necessity for work on a large scale. Adequate 
refrigeration is requisite both to chill the curd before 
molding and to preserve it after packaging. 

118. Cans. — For curdling, the " shot-gun " can, about 
nine inches in diameter and twenty inches deep, is gen- 
erally used. This holds thirty to forty pounds of milk. 
Increased capacity is dependent, therefore, on the number 
of units installed, not on changes in the units themselves. 

119. Draining racks. — A draining rack is required 
for each can of curd. These racks also are standardized 
units whose num- 
ber limits the 
capacity of the 
factory. The de- 
sign of these 
racks (Figs. 13, 
14) and their ar- 
rangement in the 
draining room are 
taken from Bul- 
letin 78 of the 
Storrs Agricul- 
tural Experiment 
Station : " The racks are rectangular, thirteen inches 
wide, thirty-six inches long and ten inches deep. The 
corner posts extend one and one-half inches beyond the 
strips at top and bottom with the tops rounded as a rule 
as seen in the photograph. The bottom slats fit loosely 
into notches, hence are removable for washing purposes. 
The materials required are four corner posts one and 
one-half by one and one-half inches ; nine strips one by 
three-eighths by thirty-six inches ; six strips one by three- 




FiG. 14. — Detail of a Neufchatel draining rack. 



98 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



eighths by thirteen inches, two strips one by three-eighths 
by twelve and a quarter inches, notched to receive the 
bottom slats ; all made from pine." 

120. Cloths. — For each draining rack, a cloth one 
yard wide and one and one-half yards long is required. 
Cotton sheeting is satisfactory for the purpose ; " even- 
count, round-thread, unmercerized voile " is suggested 
by Dahlberg.^ 

121. Molding machinery. — For work on a large scale, 
special power machines ^ are regularly used. These 

consist of a hopper 
and worm delivering 
a standard size stream 
of curd through a 
proper size and shape 
of delivery tube. This 
curd stream is cut by 
an automatic device 



into the proper lengths 
to form the standard 
cheese. In this way a 
uniform size of cheeses 
is obtained. Experi- 
mental work with hand 
apparatus showed that a worm six inches in diameter is 
required to deliver curd in a smooth column one and 
one-half inches square. If the pressure is not sufficient, 

^ Dahlberg, A. O., The manufacture of cottage cheese in 
creameries and milk plants, U. S. Dept. Agr. Bui. 576, pages 1-16, 
1917. 

2 Since the number of factories has continued small, the manu- 
facture of this type of machine has remained a monopoly in 
which each machine is made to order by the Van Eyck Machine 
Co. of Holland, Mich. 




Fig. 15. — Neuf chatel and cream cheese 
molds. 



CHEESES WITH SOUR- MILK FLAVOR 99 

the column will frill at the edges. Such irregular surfaces 
cannot be wrapped smoothly enough to delay spoilage. 

On a small scale, a fair grade of product can be molded 
through a tin tube (see Fig. 15) one and three-quarters 
inches in diameter and ten inches long in which the curd 
is compressed by a close fitting plunger operated by hand. 

122. Milk for Neufchatel should be clean, free from 
gas and taint. Such milk should preferably be not more 
than twelve hours old when received and in no case show 
higher than 0.20 per cent lactic acid by titration. Milk 
testing 4 per cent fat or higher will produce a higher qual- 
ity of product than lower grade milk, although every 
grade from skimmed-milk to cream is used in producing 
some form of Neufchatel. This milk should be pasteur- 
ized unless shown to be free from tuberculosis by proper 
test of the cattle. Evidence ^ that the organism of tuber- 
culosis will withstand the regular handling process for 
cheeses of this group and retain its ability to cause dis- 
ease in experimental animals makes the introduction of 
pasteurization necessary in this whole group of cheeses. 
Any effective pasteurization may be used, but tempera- 
tures of 140-145° F. for thirty minutes have been 
effective with less changes in the milk than higher tem- 
peratures for shorter periods. The milk should be cooled 
to curdling temperature and the starter and rennet added 
and stirred into the milk in bulk. The milk may then be 
quickly distributed into the curdling cans with a hose 
or from the gate valve of the mixing vat. 

123. Starter. — To insure the development of a clean 

acid flavor, a small amount of lactic starter should be 

1 Presented by Dr. E. C. Schroeder of the U. S. Dept. Agr. 
to the International Association of Dairy and Milk Inspectors, 
at Washington, Oct. 17, 1917, pubUshed Jour. Am. Vet. Med. 
Assoc'n 52, N. S. 5, no. 6, pages 674-685, 1918. 



100 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

used. The quantity to use depends on the quaHty of the 
milk. With skimmed-milk, a pint for each thirty-pound 
can is recommended by Matheson and Cammack ^ and 
by Dahlberg. (See page 98.) For whole-milk Neufchatel, 
2 c.c. to a thirty-pound can of milk commonly gives good 
results. On this basis 2 ounces of starter would be suf- 
ficient if properly stirred into about 1000 pounds of milk. 
Too slow development of acid is preferable to over-rapid 
souring. 

124. Renneting or setting. — The milk should be 
cooled after pasteurizing to between 70° and 75° F. Ren- 
net is added at the rate of ^ c.c. to a thirty-pound can 
(roughly ^ ounce to 1000 pounds). This will thicken 
the milk sufficiently in the first few hours to reduce the 
separation of the cream. For completion of the curdling 
and souring process, twelve to eighteen hours are required. 
Usually the cans stand overnight at uniform temperature. 
When ready to drain, the curd should be firm, smooth 
and mildly acid. Whey separating from it should not 
titrate above 0.35 per cent titrated as lactic acid. 

125. Draining. — A cloth is spread over a draining 
rack and the contents of one " shot-gun " can poured 
upon the cloth with as little breaking as possible. In 
this way a large surface is exposed. The room must be 
kept wet to prevent the surface of the curd drying to 
form crusts which stop draining. A temperature of 60° 
F. is favorable to the maintenance of proper texture and 
humidity without the development of objectionable 
organisms, especially Oidium lactis, which tends to cover 
every exposed surface in such rooms. Draining may be 

^ Matheson, K. J., and F. R. Cammack, How to make cottage 
cheese on the farm, U. S. Dept. Agr., Farmers' Bui. 850, pages 
1-15, 1917. 



CHEESES WITH SOUR-MILK FLAVOR 101 

hastened by turning the curd or changing the position of 
the cloth. In factory practice, the large draining surface 
reduces the necessity of handling the curd and reduces 
the loss of fat. About twelve hours are required upon 
the draining racks. 

On a small scale with a few cans of curd in the home, 
any form of draining rack may be used, such as a potato 
or berry crate, or the corners of the cloth may be brought 
together, tied and the mass hung up. The curd must 
be turned by pulling up the corners of the cloth to prevent 
drying at the edges and stoppage of draining from the 
center of the mass. Such treatment produces much more 
rapid drainage than the factory practice and involves 
proportionately more labor and larger fat losses. 

126. Cooling Neufchatel. — When whey ceases to 
separate readily, the corners of the cloth are loosed from 
the rack, folded diagonally or tied, and the curd cooled 
on ice or in refrigerators. When thoroughly chilled the 
bags of curd are put into presses, where light but in- 
creasing pressure forces more whey out of the mass. 
Tests at this time should show about 0.60 per cent acid 
in the whey. With low-fat curd every step of the process 
may be hastened, but with high-fat care must be exer- 
cised to prevent loss of fat during pressing especially. 
Any pressing device permitting continuous pressure with 
ease of manipulation may be used. 

127. Pressing. — The ideals of the maker must deter- 
mine the extent of pressing. A high yield is obtained 
by leaving whey in the curd. If immediate consumption 
is certain, such cheese may be satisfactory, but if the 
cheese is to be held some days the extra whey carrying 
more milk-sugar favors increased acid development. 
This produces very sour cheese with much more danger 



102 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



of other fermentations which cause objectionable flavor. 
Too much water favors more active bacterial growth as 
well as produces cheese too soft for the necessary handling 
in the market. 

In the press, several bags of curd may be piled together. 
The press should be released and the bags turned from 
time to time to insure even drainage. Several hours of 
pressing are usually required. The danger of insufficient 
pressing is due to the difference of texture between the 
worked and un worked curd. Before working, curd carry- 
ing 10 per cent excess moisture resembles the finished 
product sufficiently to deceive any but the experienced 
maker. But if this curd is transferred to the worker and 
to the molding machine, it is found to become soft, 

pasty and stickj^ to 
lack "body," hence to 
make very unsatis- 
factory packages and 
to spoil very quickly. 
The masses of curd 
should come out of 
the press as dry and 
hard flat cakes. 

128. Working and 
salting Neufchatel. — 
The cakes of curd go 
from the press to the 
working table. Here 
they are broken by 
hand or by a butter- 
worker or kneading 
machine (Fig. 16). Salt at the rate of one and one- 
half pounds to 100 pounds of curd is added. If the 




Fig. 16. — Working Neufchatel. 



CHEESES WITH SOUR-MILK FLAVOR 103 

curd is not sufficiently pressed, the masses become 
mushy or pasty during the working process. The work- 
ing is continued until the whole mass is uniformly 
smooth and buttery. 

129. Storage. — The draining and working processes 
permit the contamination of the curd with organisms 
from the air and from the apparatus. These are dis- 
tributed throughout the mass. Air is also worked 
thoroughly into the curd. Such a product spoils quickly. 
Distributing houses find the Neufchatel trade uncertain 
in volume from day to day, hence many of them store 
the cheese in bulk and package only fast enough to fill 
orders. This minimizes the loss due to spoilage. Such 
curd may be packed into tubs and kept for considerable 
time in cold storage. If molded for the retail trade, it 
is more quickly perishable. When packed solidly in 
mass, curd is largely protected from spoilage by the ex- 
clusion of air and perhaps the quick exhaustion of free 
oxygen through the respiration of the micro-organisms 
present and by its acidity. This must be supplemented 
by low temperature to reduce the loss to a minimum. 
Even when spoilage begins, it is easily confined to the 
slight growth of Oidium lactis or green mold and bacteria 
on exposed areas. These can be removed with minimum 
loss and damage to the mass. On the other hand, such 
curd molded into the commercial package of 3 to 6 
ounces and wrapped in paper, with tin-foil or carton for 
protection, still presents enormously increased surface 
for the growth of aerobic forms — especially Oidium 
lactis, green mold (Roquefort mold is the usual green 
species) and accompanying bacteria. Curd in tubs may 
be kept some days ; in commercial packages lowering 
of quality (flavor) begins almost at once. 



104 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



130. Molding. — When the standard molding ma- 
chine (Fig. 17) is provided, curd is brought directly from 
the refrigerator to the machine. If permitted to be- 
come warm, the mass becomes sticky; when cold it 
is more readily handled. The machine is fitted with 
the special delivery tube for the variety to be handled, 
cylindrical for Neufchatel in its various forms, rectangular 
in section for cream. Enough workers should be pro- 
vided to wrap and label the cheese without leaving it 




Fig. 17. — Molding Neufchatel. 



exposed to contamination or heat. Parchment paper 
and tin-foil cut the proper size for each variety and bear- 
ing printed labels are readily obtainable. Each cheese 
should be wrapped with paper and tin-foil and put directly 
into a Hat box which holds a standard number (usually 
12 or 24) of the special product. 

In working with the hand molding tube (Fig. 15) 
the same care is required. Chilled curd is forced into a 
firm smooth mass with the plunger. It is removed 



CHEESES WITH SOUR-MILK FLAVOR 105 

and wrapped when it reaches the regular size of the 
variety. 

All forms when molded go directly into the boxes and 
then back to the refrigerators until demanded for actual 
use. The details of the process diflfer according to the 
form made. 

131. Skimmed-milk Neufchatel. — Separator skimmed- 
milk is frequently made into curd by the Neufchatel 
process. The absence of fat eliminates the largest element 
of loss in manufacture. Each stage of the making process, 
therefore, may be shortened. The demand that the curd 
shall be smooth and buttery in texture rather than rough 
or gritty requires the exercise of care in curdling of milk. 
The draining and pressing of the curd may be accomplished 
much more rapidly than in the fatty cheeses. The final 
product should differ from cottage cheese in smoother 
texture, milder acidity and, as a rule, cleaner flavor. In 
composition, the absence of fat must be largely compen- 
sated by leaving more water in the cheese. Such a 
product reaches the market with 65 to 75 per cent of water 
and perhaps 1.25 per cent of salt. Casein forms 20 to 30 
per cent of the mass. 

These cheeses are very perishable on account of their 
high water-content. The destructive effect of micro- 
organisms both in the interior of the cheese and upon its 
surface is rapid. 

Cheeses of this description may be found in the trade 
as cottage cheese, Neufchatel style, and as Neufchatel 
made from skimmed-milk ; skimmed-milk Neufchatel 
would be a strictly proper labeling. 

132. Baker's cheese. — There is considerable market 
for skimmed-milk curd as Baker's cheese. This product 
is essentially skimmed-milk Neufchatel curd, partially 



106 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

drained and sold in bulk. When the bakery is near by, the 
curd is frequently shoveled into milk-cans in very wet 
condition and sent directly from the factory to the bakery. 
If the distance is such as to require considerable time 
for transportation, the same care is frequently given 
as for Neufchatel curd packed in bulk for storage and 
transportation. 

Great variations in practice are found among the 
makers of this type of product. In some cases low grade 
skimmed-milk is handled on a large scale. Curdling is 
done quickly and little care is gi\en to the details of flavor 
and texture in the curd. Working in this manner, two 
men are able to make a ton of such curd, and ship it out 
in milk-cans each day. The resulting product, although 
very deficient in flavor and texture, goes into manufac- 
tured specialties which conceal its deficiencies if con- 
sidered as cheese. 

133. Domestic Neufchatel. — The name Neufchatel, 
unless limited clearly by the label, should designate a 
cheese made from fresh whole milk. Cheeses of this 
group are produced in a small number of well-equipped 
factories scattered widely through the dairy states of 
the North and Northeast. Every factory uses one or 
more trade names for its product. The same product is 
frequently relabeled by the distributor who uses his own 
trade name instead of that of the maker. 

The usual form of package is cylindrical, about if 
inches in diameter and 21 indies long, or sometimes 
rectangular 2| by 1| by 1^ inches. The cheese is pro- 
tected by wrapping in parchment paper closely surrounded 
by tin-foil. These packages vary from 2| to 4 ounces. 
In some cases screw-topped glass jars are substituted for 
the tin-foil package. They are objectionable, first, be- 



CHEESES WITH SOUR-MILK FLAVOR 107 

cause of cost and, second, because they are so commonly 
associated with less perishable products as to mislead 
either dealer or consumer into holding the product for 
too long a time. The paper or tin-foil package can be 
kept only at refrigerator temperature, hence automat- 
ically keeps its possessor reminded of the perishable nature 
of its contents. 

Neufchatel of the best quality made from whole milk 
testing about 4 per cent fat may be expected to fall 
within the following limits ; ^ many grades contain more 
water than this at the expense of flavor and keeping 
quality : 

Water 50-55 per cent 

Fat 23-28 per cent 

Casein 18-21 per cent 

Salt 0.5-1.25 per cent 

Yield 12-14 lb. per 100 lb. of milk. 

134. Partially skim Neufchatel. — Brands of Neuf- 
chatel made from milk that would test every gradation 
from whole milk to separator skimmed-milk may be 
found. The quality of the product varies with the skill 
of the maker from brands no better than cottage cheese 
to products scarcely distinguishable from the best whole- 
milk Neufchatel. Many factories that produce more 
than one quality of Neufchatel use labels of different 
color, different design or both to separate them ; for 
example, blue labels usually stand for whole milk, red 
labels represent lower grades. Sometimes the difference 
in material is indicated by a clear cut grade mark. Fre- 
quently color, a design of label or both are the only 
definite marks upon the cheese. The consumer un- 
familiar with the trade practice commonly has no means 
of knowing the quality of the product offered. Such 

1 Taken from Conn. (Storrs) Exp. Sta. Bui. 78, page 328. 



108 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

cheeses vary in water-content from 55 to 70 per cent; 
in fat from 10 to 25 per cent; in casein from 18 to 25 
per cent. 

135. Cream cheese. — The Neiifchatel process is also 
used to make cream cheese. The material utilized is 
connnonly what has been called double cream. This is 
produced by separating about half of a gi^•en volume of 
milk and running the cream into the other half. Usually 
cream cheese is made in the same factory as various 
grades of Xeufchatel. No material is lost. In some 
instances, cream cheese is prepared by working thick 
cream into the Xeufchatel ty]x> of curd from practically 
skinunetl-milk. In working with high })crccntages of fat in 
curd, care must be taken to a\ oid loss of fat in draining 
and pressing. The curd is carefully chilled before press- 
ing to reduce this loss. This may be done under refriger- 
ation or upon cracked ice. Otherwise the manipulations 
of the process are unchanged. The cheeses are conuuonly 
molded in the Xeufchatel machine into square cakes 
weighing about 4 ounces and measuring approximately 
3 by 2\ by | inches. These are wra]^])ed in paper and 
tin-foil and handled exactly as X'eufchatel. 

Cream cheese of high quality made from reenforced 
milk testing 7 to per cent fat may be expected to test 
approximately as follows : ^ 

Water 38-43 per cent 

Fat 43-48 per cent 

Protein 13-lG per cent 

Salt 0.5-1.25 per cent 

Yield 16-18 lb. per 100 lb. of cream. 

Increases of water, hence greater yields, are very com- 
mon but usually associated with loss in quality both as 
1 Taken from Conn. (Storrs) Exp. Sta. Bui. 78, page 328. 



CHEESES WITH SOUR- MILK FLAVOR 109 

to flavor and texture, and in more rapid spoilage; eertain 
brands regularly carry 50 to 60 per cent of fat hut their 
increased cost of manufacture and sale restricts them to 
the role of specialties with closely limited distribution. 
Trade names such as Philadelphia Cream, Cow Brand, 
Eagle Brand, Square Cream, Blue Label and many other 
factory brands are on the market. 

136. Neufchatel specialties. - — Neufchatel or cream 
cheese curd is frequently mixed with some flavoring 
substance, such as pimiento (pickled Spanish peppers), 
olives, nuts, spices or other cheeses, such as Roquefort. 
These bear appropriate trade names and form a very 
attractive addition to our varieties of cheese. Among 
the names found are Pimiento, Olive, Nut, and Pim-olive 
or Olimento. 

137. Gervais is a brand of cream cheese made in Paris 
and sold widely in France and even in other continental 
countries. It occasionally comes to America. As made 
in Paris, these cheeses are flat cakes containing approx- 
imately 40 per cent water and 35-45 per cent fat. It 
clearly differs only in detail from the square cream cheeses 
made in America. The name Gervais is the property 
of a particular company. Since the cheese differs in no 
essential feature from other cream cheeses, this name 
should not be applied to a domestic cream brand. 

138. European forms occasionally imported. — Among 
the cheeses related to Neufchatel as they reach the market 
are the " White " cheeses of southern Europe. These 
differ greatly in quality according to their source and 
to their content of cow, sheep, goat's milk or some com- 
bination of these. This texture and flavor link them 
with unripened Neufchatel. The time required for 
importation puts a minimum possible period of ten to fif- 



110 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

teen days between production and consumption with a 
probable period of at least one month for most samples. 
As they come to America, these forms usually show 
fermentive changes beyond those tolerated in the do- 
mestic product. This may take either of sever.al forms : 

(1) intensification of acid flavor with the intensification 
of the characteristic flavors of the particular brand ; 

(2) the development of old or rancid flavors ; (3) the de- 
velopment of Oidium and partial softening of the mass 
through its agency ; (4) the growth of Roquefort mold 
and development of the flavor associated with that 
organism. This last form was found in a shipment of 
Hungarian Briuse which showed about 40 per cent fat, 
14 per cent protein and 43 per cent water. 



CHAPTER VIII 
SOFT CHEESES RIPENED BY MOLD 

The ripened soft cheeses include a series of groups of 
varieties which, in addition to initial souring, have been 
subjected to special ripening processes, and which in 
the ripened condition are soft in texture and mostly have 
high flavors. The varieties in each group have in com- 
mon some essential principles of manufacture together 
with a ripening process dominated by a characteristic 
group of organisms. In certain groups, the ripening is 
dominated by a yellowish or orange viscid surface slime 
containing Oidiiim lacfis and bacteria ; in another series, 
the characteristic organism is a mold of the genus Pen- 
icillium (P. Camemherti). Referring to the analysis of 
groups (page 83), the ripened soft cheeses are found to 
fall into three well-marked groups, one of which may per- 
haps be subdivided as indicated. The series curdled by 
souring alone begins with approximately cottage cheese 
curd and develops high flavors by ripening, as in " hand " 
cheese. Ripened Neufchatel curdled by souring and 
rennet together finds its basis in Neufchatel curd also 
but modifies the final product until the familiar flavor 
and texture of the unripened form are no longer recogniz- 
able. Among the forms curdled by rennet alone the 
Camembert series contains one form, Coulommiers, which 
is opcasionally used unripe, but represents in general a 
mold-ripened group of highly flavored forms. The series 

111 



112 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

of soft rennet cheeses ripened by bacteria may be broadly 
designated the Limburger group. 

139. Hand cheese and its allies. — Among skim 
cheeses, there is a series of forms largely German in 
origin in which curd not far removed from cottage cheese 
is the basis of the product. Harz cheese is one of the 
best-known of these forms as studied by Eckles and Rahn.^ 
One of these forms, hand cheese,^ is manufactured on 
a commercial basis in farm dairies among families of 
German descent principally in Pennsylvania, and on a 
factory basis in a few places in New York, northern 
Illinois and Wisconsin. On the small scale, curd is made 
by natural souring or by use of starter, heated to expel 
water, cooled and molded by hand into cakes two to three 
inches in diameter and one-half to three-quarters inch in 
thickness. The freshly formed cakes are placed upon a 
shelf to dry. There they are turned daily until fairly firm, 
then packed in rolls into wooden boxes and ripened in a 
cool damp room. In this ripening there is a prompt 
development of a hea^•y viscous slime, which consists of 
Oidium and bacteria. Other molds forming loose cottony 
mycelium are brushed off if they appear. The proper 
consistency of this slimy covering depends on a close 
adjustment of water-content in the cheese with tempera- 
ture and relative humidity in the ripening room. If 
conditions are too dry, the cheeses harden quickly or if 
less dry they are attacked by green or blue-green molds. 
If too wet, the slimy covering becomes too soft and watery, 
or secondarily covered with loose shimmering masses of 

1 Eckles, C. H., and O. Rahn, Die Reifung des Harzkases, 
Centralb. f. Bakt.etc. 2 abt. 14 (1905). pages 676-680. 

- Monrad, J. H., Hand cheese, N. Y. Produce Rev. etc. 25 
(1908), 16, page 644. 



SOFT CHEESES RIPENED BY MOLD 113 

mold (Miicor sp.)- Ripening should proceed slowly and 
occupy a period of six to eight weeks. 

140. Pennsylvania pot cheese. — A form of " pot " 
cheese is made in certain counties of Pennsylvania, prin- 
cipally for local use. Production of this cheese on a fac- 
tory basis is now being attempted. The steps in manu- 
facture are about as follows : ^ (1) The home-made type of 
cottage cheese curd is prepared, put into a crock or pot 
and covered carefully; (2) kept in a warm place (in 
kitchen usually) ; (3) stirred from time to time, until 
it has ripened to a semi-liquid condition. This occurs 
very rapidly under the attack of Oidium lactis accompanied 
by bacteria. Within a period of three to seven days, 
according to the temperature and to the water-content 
of the mass, the granules of curd become covered with a 
wrinkled gelatinous almost viscid mass of mold mycelium 
beneath which is a layer of semi-liquid curd with a strong 
characteristic odor and taste. This ripened or semi- 
liquid part reaches about half the total mass in four or 
five days at favorable temperatures. (4) The vessel 
is then placed in a larger vessel of water and heated over 
the fire w^ith constant stirring until the whole mass is 
melted and smooth. (5) Butter or cream, and salt or 
other flavor is finally added, stirred in and the liquid cheese 
poured into molds or jelly glasses to cool. If properly 
made and cooked, the resultant cheese has a soft buttery 
consistency with an agreeable flavor, which frequently 
resembles that of Camembert cheese. 



1 The authors are under obligations to Mrs. E. E. Kiernan 
for her description of this process (in the Somerset County 
Leader, Jan. 10, 1908) and her letters concerning it. The 
statement of the process given here combines the published 
statement with the results of our own experiments. 



114 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

141. Appetitost (Appetite cheese). — A Danish butter- 
milk cheese is made under this name. Sour buttermilk 
is heated, by some to boiling temperature but others 
(INIonrad ^) prefer 120° F., stirred thoroughly and allowed 
to settle. The whey is removed as far as possible. The 
semi-liquid mass is covered and set in a warm place. 
Fermentation becomes active. This tends to make the 
curd more viscous or sticky. It is then kneaded and 
allowed to ferment again. This process is repeated until 
the mass is yellowish and soft but tough or viscous. 
When thoroughly fermented, the mass is again heated 
to 120° F., and 6 per cent salt is added together with 
spice ; both are worked in and the cheese is formed into 
fancy shapes for sale. 

142. Ripened Neiifchatel, French process. — Neuf- 
chatel as a ripened cheese is made rather widely in France 
but it is produced on an especially large scale in Seine- 
Inferieure." Some factories use whole milk, or milk with 
added cream, others skimmed-milk.^ The whole-milk 
brands of Neufchatel are those which have the widest 
reputation. For making this cheese, the working room 
is held as closely as possible at 15-16° C. (58-60° F.). 
The milk is strained into earthen vessels holding twenty 
liters. Rennet is added to the freshly drawn milk at 
about 30° C. (86° F.) in amount sufficient to produce 
coagulation in about twenty-four hours. Draining racks 

1 Monrad, J. H., Appetitost, N. Y. Produce Rev. etc. 25 
(1908), 16, page 644. 

2 Pouriau, A. F., La Laiterie, sixieme ed. par Marcel Mon- 
teran, page 453, Paris, 1908. 

^ Among the varietal names for Neufchatel cheese from whole 
milk or with added cream are Petits Bondons, Malakoffs, 
Carres affines. Among low fat or skim forms, Petit Suisse, 
Gournay. 



SOFT CHEESES RIPENED BY MOLD 115 

of various forms are covered with cloth. The vessels of 
curd are dumped upon the racks. The whey separates 
slowly and drains off through the cloth. About twelve 
hours are allowed for this process. The corners of the 
cloth are then brought together and folded in or tied and 
the mass pressed to complete the drainage. The finished 
curd is worked or kneaded to produce a smooth and 
uniform texture. This process of curd-making is essen- 
tially the same as the American factory process of making 
Neufchatel. The ripening process has been entirely 
dropped in America. The curd is finally molded in 
metal forms 5 cm, (2 inches) in diameter and about 
6.7 cm, (about 3 inches) high, open at both ends. These 
molds are filled, the freshly formed cheeses are pressed 
out with a plunger or piston and their surfaces smoothed 
with a wooden knife. 

After molding is completed, the cheeses are salted 
by sprinkling the entire surface with fine dry salt as the 
cheese is held in the hand. In this way each cheese re- 
ceives and absorbs 3 to 4 per cent salt. After salting, 
the cheeses are arranged upon boards and allowed to drain 
twenty-four hours. They are then removed to the first 
or drying room. The frames of the drying room (secherie) 
are covered with straw and the cheeses are placed care^ 
fully upon t"he straw to avoid contact with each other. 
They are turned each day to present a fresh surface to 
the straw during a period of two to three weeks in the 
drying room (secherie). Mold begins to show as white 
cottony mycelium after five to six days, and slowly turns 
to " blue " (bluish green). When the cheeses are well 
covered with this moldy rind, they are removed to the 
ripening cellar. In the ripening cellar also the cheeses 
stand upon straw. They are turned over every three or 



116 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

four days at first, then allowed to stand for a longer 
period. 

When ripe, a Xeufchatel cheese so made weighs about 
125 grams. One liter of milk makes 225 grams of such 
cheese. The ripening of Neufchatel has never been fully 
studied, but a series of these cheeses were obtained by one 
of the authors ; cultures were made and examined.^ The 
salt-content in the first place was found to be so high 
that Oidiiim lactis was eliminated as an active factor 
in the ripening. The mold proved to be on some 
cheeses Penicillium Camemberti, the typical mold of 
Camembert as it is made in Normandy, on others P. 
Camemberti var. Rogeri, the pure white form as used 
under the patents of M. Georges Roger in the region of 
Seine-et-]\Iarne to the eastward of Paris and called by 
him and by INIaze P. candidum. The physical condition 
of the ripened curd and the flavors encountered were 
those associated with these two species by many hundreds 
of experiments during the Camembert investigation in 
Connecticut.'^ These facts justify the conclusion that 
ripened Neufchatel is first soured by lactic organisms, 
then so salted as to eliminate or reduce to a minimum 
the characteristic activities of Oidium lactis, while the 
proteolytic action and the physical changes are closely 
similar to those of Camembert which is ripened primarily 
by the same molds. 

^ Thorn, C, J. N. Currie and K. J. Matheson, Studies relat- 
ing to the Roquefort and Camembert types of cheese, Conn. 
(Storrs) Exp. Sta. Bui. 79, page 392. 

2 Full discussion of this product is found in U. S. Dept. Agr. 
Bur. An. Ind. Bui. 115. Camembert cheese problems in the 
U. S. also published as Storrs Exp. Sta. Bui. 58 with the 
same title. Also a supplementary paper in Bui. 79 of Storrs 
Exp. Sta. 



SOFT CHEESES RIPENED BY MOLD 117 

143. The Camembert group. — The soft cheeses ripened 
by molds are French in origin. Their manufacture has 
spread into Germany, Italy and America. Of the series, the 
most widely known is Camembert, which w411 be described 
as typical for the group. Brie, Coulommiers, Robbiola 
and Ripened Neufchatel belong to this series. 

144. Camembert cheese. — The origin of Camembert 
is given by French authorities as 1791 in the Commune 
of Camembert near Vimoutiers in Orne, France. From 
a very restricted production at first, Camembert-making 
has spread through the region from Caen in the west 
to Havre, Rouen and a considerable area east of Paris. 
In America Camembert began to be made in one factory 
about 1900. Several other factories followed by 1906. 
The difficulties and losses encountered led to the abandon- 
ment of these undertakings, until at the outbreak of the 
European war in 1914 but one factory was making Ca- 
membert and that only on an experimental scale. Mean- 
while the United States Department of Agriculture and 
the Storrs Experiment Station had taken up and solved, 
on an experimental basis, most of the problems arising 
in these commercial failures. A shortage of product 
at the outbreak of the war brought about the re-estab- 
lishment of a series of factories. The product as put 
on the market indicates that a permanent establishment 
of Camembert-making is entirely practicable. 

Camembert cheese is made from cow's milk either whole 
or very slightly skimmed ; the removal of about 0.5 per cent 
of fat has been found to be desirable if not actually necessary. 

145. Description of Camembert.^ — These cheeses are 
made in sizes 2^ to 4| inches in diameter and I4 to 1| 

1 Thorn, C, U. S. Dept. Agr. Bur. An. Ind. Circ. 145 (1909), 
page 339. 



118 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

inches in thickness. They are ripened by the agency of 
molds and bacteria which form a felt-like rind over their 
whole surface, tf to ^ of an inch in thickness. This 
rind may be dry and gray or grayish-green, consisting 
of a felt-like surface of mold on the outside, below which 
a harder portion consists of mold embedded in partially 
dried cheese, or the moldy part may be more or less com- 
pletely overgrown or displaced by yellowish or reddish 
slime composed mainly of bacteria. Good cheeses may 
have either appearance. 

Inside the rind, the cheese is softened progressively 
from the rind toward the center from all sides, so that a 
fully ripe cheese has no hard sour curd in the center, 
but is completely softened. No mold should be visible 
inside the rind, but the moldy rind itself is necessary 
because the ripening is caused by the enzymes secreted 
by the organisms of the rind into the cheese. As the 
curd ripens, the changed portion assumes a slightly deeper 
color than the unripe curd as a result of chemical changes. 
Well-ripened cheeses vary from nearly a fluid texture to 
the consistency of moderately soft butter. The ripen- 
ing of Camembert is finished in wooden boxes which pro- 
tect the cheeses from breaking after they become soft 
and during the market period. 

146. Conditions of making and ripening. — These pro- 
cesses depend on a very close adjustment between the com- 
position of the freshly made cheese and the temperature 
and humidity of the rooms in which the cheeses are made 
and ripened. Very slight failures in control bring loss 
in ultimate results. The room for making Camembert 
should be maintained between 60° and 70° F. and should 
be wet enough to reduce drying to a minimum. The 
essentials of apparatus are comparatively inexpensive. 



SOFT CHEESES RIPENED BY MOLD 



ud 



Work on a factory basis calls, however, for the installa- 
tion of special tables and other ai)paratus to utilize space 




and labor to advantage. Rooms are protected from 
change of feather by double sash in the windows. Flies 
must be excluded by close-meshed screens for all doors 



120 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



and windows with movable sash. The equipment in- 
stalled in such a room is shown in Fig. 18. Curdling cans 
are ranged on a shelf a few inches above the floor along 
one side of the room below an open tin trough with side 
branches. This open trough brings the milk from the 
mixing vat to the curdling cans. (The open tin trough 
offers no lodgment for dirt.) The cans hold about 200 
pounds of milk, are about 12 inches in diameter at bottom, 
and 20 to 24 inches at top. They are heavily tinned. 
Iron trucks as high as the shelf and with tops the same 

diameter as the 
bottoms of the 
,, ' cans form a con- 
"^ venient method 
of bringing cans 
of curd to the 
very edge of the 
draining tables. 

The wooden 
draining tables 
are placed about 
32 inches above 
the floor ; they 
are usually made 
of 2-inch lumber, 
have raised edges and slope slightly toward the wall. 
Whey and wash water are thus carried to a draining trough 
along the wall. For cheese-making, each is covered with 
a strip of matting consisting of wooden strips held together 
by thread (Fig. 19). The strip of matting should be 
exactly the width and length of the table. The hoops 
used are heavy tin, with edges turned and soldered, about 
5 inches high, 4f inches in diameter with three rows of 




Fig. 19. — Draining mat for Camembert cheese. 



SOFT CHEESES RIPENED BY MOLD 121 

holes about tV inch in diameter and 2 inches apart in the 
row. These hoops are placed as thickly as possible upon 
the mats. 

147. Outline of making process. — The making process ^ 
is summarized as follows (Thom, 1909) : 

Starter. — From 0.5 to 1.0 per cent of active starter 
is added to milk kept overnight below 60° F. 

Acidity at renneting. — Milk titrated to phenol- 
phthalein should test 0.20 to 0.23 per cent calculated 
as lactic acid. 

Temperance of renneting. — 84°— 86° F. is used for 
Camembert. 

Rennet. — From 3 to 5 oz. of standard rennet extract to 
1000 lb. milk (10-15 c.c. per 100 lb. milk) produces a 
curd of proper texture. 

Curdling time. — To reach the proper condition for 
handling, \\ to li hom"s or longer is required. This 
is indicated by the onset of " sweating " or the separa- 
tion of large drops of whey on the surface of the 
solid curd. 

Dipping. — A long-handled dipper is used to transfer 
curd from cans to hoops. This can be lowered into the 
hoop. This transfer is to be done with the least pos- 
sible breaking. One dipperful is transferred at a time 
to each of a series of hoops. By the time the series is 
covered, some drainage has occurred and a second dip- 
perful is added to the contents of the hoop. In this 
way the hoop is filled within a period of two to four 
hours. 

Draining. — Hoops when properly filled have taken 
in approximately 2 quarts of milk each. No pressure 

^ Lot record cards for the making and ripening of Camembert 
are given on pages 124 and 125. 



122 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

is used. Cheeses drain by gravity. They stand un- 
turned until the following morning when they should 
be firm enough to permit turning without removing the 
hoops. The cheeses when firm enough to handle (usually 
on the third morning) are salted by dusting the entire 
surface with coarse salt and permitting all that adheres 
to remain. The cheeses should then be removed to a 
room at about 58° F. to prevent too rapid leakage of water 
and salt from their surfaces. Ripe cheeses of good qual- 
ity show a total salt-content varying from 2.25 to 3 per 
cent with an average of about 2.5 per cent. When so 
handled there is slight, if any, loss of water and salt in the 
salting period of twenty-four to forty-eight hours. At 
the end of the salting period such cheeses should carry 
55 to 57 per cent water or slightly more. 

148. Acidity. — The essential biological factor in the 
making period of Camembert is proper souring. The 
milk should be free from gassy organisms. The lactic 
starter required should introduce the tji^ical lactic organ- 
ism {Streptococcus lacticns) in numbers sufficient to sup- 
press all other forms during the next twenty-four hours. 
The amount of acid starter introduced, however, plus the 
acid resulting from growth during the curdling period, 
should not produce a grainy acid curd. The tempera- 
tures of handling are such as to favor this group of organ- 
isms if properly introduced and permit the development 
of nearly 1 per cent of acid (estimated as lactic) by the 
second morning. Cheeses with such acid are fairly free 
from further danger from bacterial activity. IMembers 
of the high-acid group {B. Bulgaricus and allies) may be 
found in these cheeses but do not appear to develop in 
numbers sufficient to affect the cheese to any marked 
degree. 



SOFT CHEESES RIPENED BY MOLD 123 

149. Ripening the cheese. — The cheese is now ready 
for the ripening rooms (Fig. 20). For this process tem- 
peratures between 52° and 58° F. are desirable ; lower 




Fig. 20. — Halloir, the first ripening room for Camembert in nn Americun 

factory. 



124 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

CAMEMBERT CHEESE RECORD 

Date..... Set No. 

Amt. milk No. cheese. Milk per cheese._ 

Producer of milk 

Apparent cleanliness of milk 

Acidity : 

Before adding starter 

After adding starter. 

After acidity period 

Whey at dipping 

Starter : 

Kind Age Amt 

Color : 

Amount 

Curdling : 

Temperature used 

Amount of rennet. 

Time at which rennet is added 

Time at which milk is ciirdled.. 

Time of curdling 

Quality of curd -- 

Dipping : 

Cut or uncut 

Amt. of cutting.„ 

Draining : 

Temperature of room during 

Condition of cheese after. 

Salting : 

Time of Total amt. of salt used Kind of salt.. 

Amt. of salt per cheese 

Mold inoculation : 

Form of culture used 

Method of inoculation 

Time of inoculation 

Remarks on making : 
Curing : 

Transfer of curing rooms 

Condition of cheese 

Rooms 

Dates 



SOFT CHEESES RIPENED BY MOLD 125 



Mold growth : 

Date of first appearance 

Purity and vigor 

Date of changing color 

Surface of slimy growth : 

Extent of 

General character of 

Surface contamination : 

Mold 

Oidium 

Yeast... 

Bacterial 

Wrapping : 

Date Material. 

Condition of cheese 

Ripening : 

Rapidity of 

Texture 

Flavor : 

Ripened curd 

Unripened curd 

Special treatment and reasons for same : 

Record of treatment l\v days 

Room Date Observations. 



1 D 


2 D 


3 D 


4 D 


5 D 


6 D 


7 D 


8 D 


9 D 


10 D 


11 D 


12 D 


13 D 


14 D 


15 D 



16 D. 

17 D. 

18 D. 

19 D. 

20 D. 

21 D. 

22 D. 

23 D. 

24 D. 

25 D. 

26 D. 

27 D. 

28 D. 

29 D. 

30 D. 

31 D. 



126 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

temperatures only delay the process ; higher temper- 
atures favor undesirable fermentations. The cheeses 
rest upon coarse matting (Fr. clayons) consisting of 
round wooden rods about the size of a pencil separated 
1-1:|- inches and held in position bj^ wire strands. As- 
suming cheeses of optimum composition as indicated above, 
the relative humidity of the ripening rooms should be 
86 to 88 per cent. Higher humidities produce too rapid 
development of slimy coatings ; too low humidity is 
indicated by drying, shrinkage and the growth of green 
molds on the surface. A slight and very slow evapora- 
tion is demanded ; by this the water-content of the cheeses 
is reduced 3 to 6 per cent in two weeks. During the 
first two weeks of ripening, the cheeses commonly show 
some growth of yeast and Oidiiini loctis first, followed 
by cottony white areas of Camembert mold (PeuiciUium 
Camemberii). This mold must be introduced by inocu- 
lation in new factories but once firmly established in 
the factory will propagate itself if conditions are kept 
favorable. Climatic conditions in most dairy sections 
of America have been sufficiently unfavorable to make 
more or less continuous use of pure cultures desirable. 
At the end of two weeks, Camembert cheeses should show 
a well-established rind, consisting of a well-matted felt 
work of mold hypha? through the outer 2 mm. (^^ inch) 
of the whole surface of the cheese. ]\Iore or less of 
the pale gray-green fruit of the characteristic Penicillium 
Canienibcrti can usually be seen. Beginning at about 
twelve to fourteen days,^ a softening of the curd is first 

* Bosworth, A. W., Chemical studios of Camembert cheese, 
N. Y. (Geneva) Exp. Sta. Tech. Bui. 5, pages 23-39. 1907. 

Dox, A. W., Proteolytic changes in the ripening of Camembert 
cheese, U. S. Dept. Agr. Bur. An. lud. Bui. 109, pages 1-24, 
1908. 



SOFT CHEESES RIPENED BY MOLD 127 

directly detectable under the rind. This is preceded by 
the disappearance of the acidity of the curd, which pro- 
gresses inward, "^rhe softening of the curd follows closely 
the lowering of the acidity. Thus a litmus test taken 
along the cut face of a Camembert cheese at any stage 
of softening will always show a sharp acid reaction in 
the solid sour portion which changes to alkaline just 
before the softening due to proteolytic action becomes 
noticeable. These two changes appear to be due to en- 
zymes secreted by the mycelium of the PeniciUkim Camem- 
bert i and Oidium lactis which constitute the most active 
factors in the ripening. Some accessory bacterial action 
is indicated but of minor importance in the changes foinid. 

To avoid k)ss from breaking, after the softening of the 
curd has fairly begun, the cheeses must be removed from 
the coarse matting to smooth boards where they are 
watched and turned repeatedl.>% or as in the more common 
practice, wrapped at once in parchment paper and boxed. 
The ripening may })e completed in either way. The 
conditions necessary are such as to favor the extension 
of slimy areas of bacteria over part or all of the rind to 
the exclusion of further development of gray-green fruit- 
ing areas of mold. 

Complete softening may occur in three weeks in cheeses 
in which evaporation has gone on too slowly. Such 
cheeses are found to contain 51 to 55 per cent of water 
when ripe and decay very quickly. If handled properly, 
the water-content should fall from about 57 per cent at 
the beginning of ripening to 48 per cent at its completion 
which should require a minimum period of about four 
weeks. It is more desirable that a cheese four weeks old 
show a thin core of sour curd in the center than that it 
be entirely liquid at that age. 



128 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



150. Composition. — Properly ripe Camembert shows 
about the following range of composition : Water 47 to 
49 per cent ; fat 25 to 28 per cent ; protein 18 to 21 per 
cent; salt 2.2 per cent to 2.8 per cent. Variations out- 
side these limits are usually associated with less desirable 
qualities. The approximate limits and characters out- 
lined for Camembert still leave a considerable latitude 
for variations in practice which characterize the output 
of particular factories in a producing group. At one 




Fig. 21. — Very soft Camembert cheese. 



extreme are brands of Camembert cheese which are very 
soft (Fig. 21), some of them actually liquid when ripe, and 
which have very strong odor and taste ; one such brand 
has held first place in the trade of certain American 
cities for years. Another popular brand when fully ripe 
is well covered with yellow-orange viscid slime ^ but is 

1 Esten, W. M., and C. J. Mason, Bact. Stud, of Camembert 
cheese, Storrs Exp. Sta. Bui. 83 (1915), pages 103-111. 



SOFT CHEESES RIPENED BY MOLD 



129 



fairly firm in texture with high flavor ; still others show 
dry moldy surfaces and mild flavors. The product of 
certain factories is always characterized by the presence 
and characteristic ammoniacal odor of Penicillium bre'vi- 
caule. 

Each of these forms seems to appeal to some classes 
of consumers, so that in handling imported Camembert 
the trade comes to assign the product to specific groups 
of purchasers according to the conditions observed at 
its arrival from Europe. 

151. Factory. — The type of factory to be used in 
making and ripening Camembert must be adjusted to 




Fig. 22.- 



• Camembert cheese factory at Lisieux, France, 
windows are seen in the second-floor rooms. 



The square 



the climate. This- product originated in the Normandy 
section of France which is but a few feet above sea level, 
is swept by winds from the Gulf Stream, and has a narrow 
range of temperature, with highly humid conditions. In 
that region, every effort must be made to secure ventila- 



130 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

tion to carry off the necessary amount of evaporation 
water. In contrast, most of the dairy sections of America 
have land instead of sea breezes, much higher altitudes, 
much greater extremes of temperature and a lower range 
of relative humidities. The conditions of an upstairs 
room full of windows in Normandy (Fig. 22) are most 
readily reproduced in rooms partly or completely be- 
low ground in this country. The industry calls for the 
production and maintenance of a specific set of working 
conditions. These are furnished by nature in northern 
France, probably also in certain Pacific coast areas, but 
must be artificially obtained where the climate is un- 
favorable. 

152. Economic factors. — Camembert cheeses show 
a yield of about 13 pounds to 100 pounds of milk testing 
4 per cent fat. At roughly one-half pound each, the 
number of cheeses will be approximately twenty-six. 
Assuming no losses and a wholesale price of 15 cents 
each, the wholesale value of 100 pounds of milk would 
be $3.90. The labor cost of i)roduction is high, the pack- 
age represents (box, wrapping and label) at least 1-|- 
cents a cheese. The time between the purchase and the 
consumption of the cheese will average about one month. 
Few cheeses actually remain this length of time in the 
possession of the maker. This short investment period, 
therefore, is a distinct advantage of Camembert. Among 
disadvantages, however, the extremely perishable char- 
acter of the fully ripe cheese makes provision of an ade- 
quate and constant market essential. Losses due to 
failures in manufacturing or ripening conditions are also 
frequent. Excessive heat in summer and very cold 
periods in winter are both unfavorable. The Camembert- 
maker cannot, therefore, use the cheapest milk of the 



SOFT CHEESES RIPENED BY MOLD 131 

summer months at all and the losses entailed by failure 
of control in winter fall on the most costly milk of the 
year. Camembert requires, therefore, careful selection 
of the location for manufacture and ripening, effective 
control of conditions throughout the period and adequate 
marketing facilities. Camembert at its best is one of 
the finest of all cheeses ; when bad, it becomes quickly 
inedible and is a total loss. 

153. French Brie.^ — Brie cheese has its center of 
production in Seine-et-Marne, east of Paris in northern 
France. The apparatus, arrangement of the factories 
and details of manipulation differ from those described 
for Camembert, but the final product is in flavor and 
texture closely related to Camembert. Brie cheeses are 
the same thickness as Camembert, 1 to 1^ inches ; in diam- 
eter, however, there are three or more sizes varying 
from 8 to 16 inches, or even greater. The largest cheeses 
weigh 5 to 6 pounds. As in Camembert, practices of 
making and ripening vary to such a degree as to produce 
various qualities of product. These run from whole milk 
through all shades of skimming. Perhaps the best 
established practice puts the cheese -making room next 
to the stalls of the cows. The milk is drawn, strained 
directly into the curdling cans and renneted while still 
warm, — 86-92° F. (30-33° C). No lactic starter is 
added and no ripening period is given to the milk. The 
other manipulations differ only in detail from Camembert. 
Ripening of Brie follows the same course with the same 
organic agents, namely, Camembert mold (Penicillium 
Camemherti) and Oidium lactis with the accompaniment 
of a mixture of slimy organisms upon the surface of the 

^ See page 134 for domestic or American use of the name 
Brie. 



132 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

cheese. The process admits of many minor modifications 
each capable of affecting the product in a characteristic 
way. The judgment and skill of the maker is given 
a wide opportunity to establish and work toward a par- 
ticular ideal of appearance and texture and flavor. Brands 
with characteristic qualities, therefore, command their 
own market. 

Brie as known in France must not be confused with the 
American " d'Isigny," or with the particular sizes of that 
type which have been called Brie on account of diameter 
only. Very little Brie as known in France has been made 
in America and only a limited amount has been imported 
for very restricted trade. 

154. Coulominiers. — Another member of the Camem- 
bert group is called, from its place of origin, Coulommiers. 
This form is made at the same thickness as Camembert 
and about 5i inches in diameter. It appears as either 
a ripened or unripe cheese. As a ripened cheese, Coulom- 
miers is not essentially dift'erent from Camembert except 
that some brands are made without salting. As a cheese 
eaten unripe, it has certain advantages over the other 
cheeses with the flavor of sour milk only. The cottage 
and (American) Neufchatel group of cheeses comprises the 
best known forms with the acid flavor. These cheeses are 
very perishable in nature. On the other hand, Coulom- 
miers as eaten fresh can be held and used over a much 
longer time without loss. Coulommiers ^ in this sense 
is simply a fresh Camembert. Such a cheese, when ready 
for the salting process, is a firm sour mass, close textured, 
almost impervious to air and but slowly permeable to 
liquids. Spoilage in such a cheese begins only on the 

1 McNaughton, J., Coulommier eheese, Dept. Agr. Ottawa, 
Canada, Dairy and Cold Storage Ser. Bui. 25, 1910. 



SOFT CHEESES RIPENED BY MOLD 133 

outside, and not throughout the mass as in cottage cheese 
or Neufchatel. Successive portions of such a cheese can 
be removed daily over a considerable period with no 
loss of substance aside from slight scraping at times and 
little or no change in flavor. This product has very tan- 
gible merit for manufacture and use on the farm in many 
sections of America. 



CHAPTER IX 
SOFT CHEESES RIPENED BY BACTERIA 

A BACTERIALLY-RIPENED sei'ies of clieeses parallels the 
mold-ripened group as typified by Camembert. Although 
the varieties overlap, these may be roughly grouped as : 
(1) those made from friable or soft curd ; (2) those made 
from firm or rubbery cinxl. In the first group, the curd 
is set at 86° F., or below; in the second, the rennet is 
added at 90° F. or abo^•e. In the first, the lower tem- 
perature and long curdling time with ripened milk gi\es a 
soft friable curd which may be toughened somewhat by 
cutting and stirring in the whey. This section is typified 
by d'Isigny, American Brie, Liederkranz. In the second, 
curdling of unripened milk at temperatures of 90° F. 
or above insures a smooth elastic curd which fuses more 
or less completely into the firm rubbery mass typified 
by freshly made Limburger. 

155. The Isigny group. — A series of names, d'Isigny, 
Brie, Brie d'Isigny, combined with trade names, are 
used for a domestic cheese, made in a small number 
of factories distributed over New York, Pennsylvania, 
JNIichigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa and California. 
The cheeses sold under the separate varietal names dift'er 
only in diameter ; their thickness is fairly uniform ; the 
process of manufacture and ripening with resultant 
textures and flavors furnishes no fundamental varietal 

134 



SOFT CHEESES RIPENED BY BACTERIA 135 

characters, although the products of the several factories 
show noticeable difi'erences in market quality. D'Isigny, 
while the name of a French town famous for butter 
production, is not used to designate a cheese in France. It 
may, therefore, be accepted as a French name arbitrarily 
applied to a domestic product. Brie as used in France 
is a markedly different cheese (p. 131), and the name 
should be dropped from this form as made in America. 
As used for a member of this series made in America, it 
merely means cheese 7 to 15 inches in diameter. The 
cheese partakes of the characters of French Livarot, and 
of Pont I'Eveque without exactly reproducing either form. 
The milk \aries from separator skim to whole 
milk, with resultant differences in quality. Freedom 
from gas is essential to the best results. The milk is 
curdled at 85 to 86 F. with sufficient rennet to produce 
a very firm curd within a period of one and one-half 
hours-. Curd is then cut in two directions, allowed to 
stand a few minutes or gently agitated to produce a very 
slight toughness or " worked " condition, then scooped 
into hoops 4| to 5 inches in height and ^'arying in diameter 
from 2^ to 15 inches according to the size selected for 
manufacture. To aid in the escape of whey, three rows 
of holes iV inch in diameter and 2 inches apart in the 
row are made in each hoop. The hoops are arranged 
upon draining tables with more or less corrugated surface, 
which for best drainage should be covered with matting. 
The cheeses are allowed to drain without pressure. They 
are commonly turned the second morning, although they 
are sometimes solid enough to turn within the first day. 
When fully drained, the cheeses are salted by rubbing 
coarse salt on the surface, after which they stand an 
extra day. They are then arranged upon shelves in a 



136 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

ripening room held between 50° and 60° F. with humidity 
so high that evaporation is kept at a minimum. In this 
room, a surface sHme develops quickly. This consists 
of bacteria of several forms, yeasts, Oidium ladis and 
accidental species of other molds. During this ripening, 
the cheeses are turned, rubbed with the hands, washed 
with salt water and scraped if infected with molds which 
produce colored colonies. In the course of ripening, the 
slimy surface layer acquires a yellowish orange color 
with the strong odor and taste characteristic of the series. 

Brands of d'lsigny are made from every grade between 
separator skim and whole milk. They reach the market 
in condition all the way from " Kosher " forms ^ which 
are eaten entirely unripe, to brands which approximate 
the qualities of Limburger and others which approach 
Port du Salut. 

The biology and chemistry of the ripening of this type 
of cheese have not been completely followed. An initial 
souring process always takes place quickly. Okluim 
ladis is always present in some degree on the surface, 
but the organisms in the yellowish to orange slime on the 
surface of the cheese appear to produce the characteristic 
odor and taste. These appear to be due to the develop- 
ment of volatile fatty acids, such as valerianic and ca- 
proic, which diffuse throughout the cheese, even pene- 
trating the unripened sour portions. The same odor 
and taste in varying intensity are present in Limburger, 
Brick, and a long series of German varieties not handled 
in America. 

High-flavored cheeses such as these, form an acceptable 
part of the meal in cases in which the intensity of other 

^ Kosher forms are prepared in compliance with the Mosaic 
law as demanded by the Jewish trade. 



SOFT CHEESES RIPENED BY BACTERIA 137 

flavors is such as to mask entirely the milder flavors of 
Camembert or cream cheese. 

In composition, a characteristic whole-milk brand 
of this group showed the following analysis : ^ water, 
45.5 per cent; fat, 25.28 per cent; protein, 18.22 per 
cent. 

156. Raffine.^ — This cheese is made in the French 
settlement of the Isle of Orleans in the St. Lawrence 
River. The practice seems to have been brought from 
France and represents an intermediate product between 
Camembert and perhaps Livarot, a cheese on the border- 
line between Camembert and Isigny as made in America. 
The outline of the making process as given follows : 
INIilk freshly drawn is curdled without cooling, at approxi- 
mately 90° F. The rennet is prepared on the farm. 
About one-half hour is required for curdling. The curd 
is cut into 2-inch cubes. Whey is removed as fast as 
it separates. About two hours are required for draining. 
The curd then goes into the hoops. The metal hoops, 
which are closed at one end, are 6 inches high, 4| inches 
in diameter, with holes about tV inch at intervals of about 
^ inch, and stand upon three legs about 1 inch in height. 
When filled, the cheeses are left on a draining table. 
Some salt is put on top while draining. When the volume 
is reduced to one-half, the cheese is turned. The drain- 
ing room is kept at about 70° F. After they are firm 
enough to handle, drainage is completed on racks covered 
with rush matting. These are arranged on special racks. 
The cheeses are turned twice a day, and washed in slightly 

1 Unpublished analysis of the Storrs Exp. Sta. 

2 Chapais, J. C, Monographie, Le Fromage Raffine de L'Isle 
d'Orleans. Quebec, 1911. Published by Ministry of Agricul- 
ture, pages 1-31. 



138 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

salted water every two days. After each washing, they 
are drained for two hours on cloth, and placed on clean 
matting. This treatment continues about fifteen days. 

After fifteen days on the matting, the cheeses are ready 
for ripening. They are first covered with cold brine 
and let stand twenty-four hours. The cheeses are packed 
in rolls or tiers in boxes, covered with cloth and ripened 
at 45° F. They must be kept moist; if signs of drying 
appear, moisture must be added. If the cheeses develop 
yellow slime, they are washed with clear water and rinsed 
in water with salt added. x\fter a ripening period of 
three weeks, the cheeses should begin to be soft when 
pressed with the finger. The growth of molds must be 
prevented by washing the boxes, cloths, and washing 
and scraping the cheeses if necessary. When the cheeses 
are ready for the market, they are scraped clean and 
white, wrapped separately in cheese-cloth or parchment 
paper and packed into the boxes. Ripe cheeses are 
about 5 inches in diameter, 1 inch thick and weigh a little 
over 5 ounces. 

The outline of the Raffine process follows : 

coagulation by rennet 30 minutes 

cutting and draining curd .... 2 hours 

draining in hoops . . . . . . 10 hours 

stand on mats 15 days 

ripening in boxes 21 days 

Total period 36 days 

The treatment described closely resembles the handling 
of Livarot cheese in the department of Calvados, France. 

157. Liederkranz cheese. — Among the specialties in 
the bacterial group is Liederkranz, made from curd with 
the soft friable texture of a Camembert, molded in rec- 



SOFT CHEESES RIPENED BY BACTERIA 139 

tangiilar blocks of about 4 ounces in weight and ripened 
ver3' com])letely. Although this name is the private 
brand of a single factory, it has become widely known with 
the effect of creating a type name in the American market. 
Analysis of this brand of cheese gives about 55 per cent 
water, 25 per cent fat, 17 per cent protein, which in- 
dicates a whole milk cheese. 

158. Limburger cheese ^ derives its name from the 
town of Limburg in Belgium. The manufacture of this 
cheese is now widely practiced in Europe and in certain 
parts of the United States, especially in New York and 
Wisconsin. Practically no cheese of this name is at 
present imported, and the practices described are limited 
to those in American factories. 

159. The milk. — Limburger cheese is probably best 
known on account of its pronounced odor. Because 
of this characteristic pungent smell, it is often thought 
that the cheese is made in dirty or misanitary places. 
On the contrary, Limburger cheese is usually made in 
small factories which are clean and sanitary. Because 
of the constant attention required, a cheese-maker can 
handle only about 2000-2500 pounds of milk a day, 
and then some help is necessary to care for the cheeses 
in the curing room." The • discussion of the milk given 
in Chapter II applies to that to be made into Limburger 
cheese; however, Limburger requires sweeter milk than 
do some of the other types. To be sure of obtaining 
very sweet milk, it is the usual practice for the milk 
to be delivered without cooling morning and evening 

^ The authors acknowledge the assistance of Mr. Louis Get- 
man in preparing this description. 

^ Zumkehr, P., Liml)urger cheesemaking, Wis. Cheese-makers 
Association, 15th Annual Meeting, 1907, page 62. 



140 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



at the cheese factory. The cheese is made twice a day. 
Because the milk must be dehvered twice daily, it is 
obtaiued from only a few producers near the factory. 
A factory usually does not have more than eight to twelve 
patrons. Because of the small number of patrons, it 
is comparatively easy to obtain a supply of fresh clean 
milk. 

The factories are variously built. A common type 
takes advantage of sloping ground so that the floor at 




Fig. 23. — A common type of Limburgcr cheese factory. 

one end may be on the ground le\'el and run backward 
into a hillside until the other end is a cellar with small 
windows at the ceiling opening at the ground level (Fig. 
23). The family of the cheese-maker often lives in the 
same building above the factory. 

160. Making the cheese. — Limburger cheese is made 
from the whole milk. When the milk is received at the 
factory, it is placed in the cheese vat. As the milk is 
delivered both morning and evening without cooling, 
it reaches the factory at a temperature of 90 to 96° F. 



SOFT CHEESES RIPENED BY BACTERIA 141 

In some cases the night's and morning's milk is mixed 
and then warmed to about 94° F. This practice is not 
recommended but is frequently adopted, when the supply 
of milk becomes too small to work in two lots. As soon 
as all of the milk has been delivered, the cheese-making 
process begins. No starter is used. The milk is not 
ripened because no acid development during the making 
process is desired. The milk is set or curdled at the 
temperature at which it is received at the factory, usually 
from 90 to 96° F. Sufficient rennet extract is used to give 
a firm coagulation in twentj^ to thirty minutes. This 
usually reciuires 2|- to 3 ounces of rennet extract for 
each 1000 pounds of milk. This is diluted in about 
forty times its own volume of cold water and added to 
the milk. (For method of adding rennet extract to milk, 
see Chapter V.) When the coagulum has become firm 
so that it will split clean over the finger, the curd is 
ready to cut. Coarse Cheddar cheese knives are used. 
Sometimes only the perpendicular knife is employed, 
and the curd is broken up whileS^eing stirred with 
the hands and rake. This usually causes a large fat 
loss. After cutting, the curd is stirred first by hand 
and later with an ordinary wooden hay rake. Usually 
the curd is not " cooked " or heated after setting, 
though occasionally it is brought up as high as 96° F. to 
98° F. If the curd does not firm up, the temperature 
may be raised to 98° to 100° F. to aid in expelling the 
moisture. 

When ready to dip, the curd should still be in large 
soft shiny pieces. It requires from one hour to an hour 
and thirty minutes from the time the rennet extract 
is added until the curd is ready to dip. When, in the 
judgment of the cheese-maker, the curd has become suffi- 



142 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

ciently firmed in the whey, the whey is drawn down to 
the surface of the curd. The curd is then dipped into 
the Liniburger molds. These molds are 5 inches square 
by S inches deep without top or bottom. Usually there 
are five or six of these molds built together into a section. 
These molds are placed on a draininij; table beside the 
\at and the curd is ladled into them with a large tin 
ladle. The draining table has strips on both sides and 
one end and slants toward the other end so that the 
whey will drain from the curd and yet not go on the 
floor except at the one end. This makes it easy to 
save and catch the whey for stock feed. 

161. Draining and salting Limburger. — In some fac- 
tories, a clean piece of burlap is put on the draining table 
and the molds and curd placed on the burlap. This aids 
in the rapid draining of the whey from the curd and pre- 
vents the loss of curd particles. The curd should be 
turned frequently in the mold to obtain uniform draining. 
The molds are transferred to the salting room as soon as 
well drained, usually in about twelve hours, but sometimes 
they are left until the following morning. Here they 
are placed on another draining table, which has strips 
about 5 inches high on the sides and one end. Th^ 
cheeses are placed along this board, each cheese being 
separated by a piece of board 4 inches high and 5 inches 
wide. When the row is filled, a long strip the length of 
the table is placed against the row. Another row is 
laid down against this strip in the same manner as the 
first, and so on until several rows are on the table. 
The last long strip is held firmly in place by sticks 
wedged between it and the opposite side of the table. 
These strips and pieces form a mold for each cheese while 
draining. Usuallv the cheeses are turned several times 



SOFT CHEESES RIPENED BY BACTERIA 143 

in this period to obtain a uniform expulsion of whey. 
In about twenty-four hours the cheeses are ready to be 
salted. This is done by applying the salt to the outside 
of the cheese. The edges are rolled in a box of salt and 
the salt then rubbed on the two broad surfaces. Any 
excess salt is brushed from the cheese with the hand. 
The cheeses are then laid on a draining table in single 
layers. The second day, they are salted again in the 
same way and piled two deep ; they are salted again the 
third day and piled three or four layers deep. The 
salting room or cellar should have a temperature of 60° 
F. and be fairly damp. The amount of salt used is 
very important. The tendency is to use too much salt. 
This retards the ripening process and in extreme cases 
gives the cheese a salty taste. If not enough salt is 
used, the cheese will deteriorate very rapidly on ac- 
count of the development of undesirable types of fer- 
mentation. The cheeses when salted are then placed in 
the curing room, which is a cellar, usually beyond the 
salting room. This cellar should have a temperature of 
58 to (34 F. and a relative humidity of 95 per cent of 
saturation. In winter it is necessary to have a fire to keep 
the rooms warm, otherwise the cheese would cure very 
slowly or not at all. In some factories the curing and 
salting cellars are a single room. 

162. Ripening Limburger. — When first placed in the 
curing cellar, the cheeses are put on edge close together, 
and as they cure are gradually separated. While in the 
curing cellar, the cheese must be rubbed frequently by 
hand and washed, usually with salt water. The object 
of the rubbing is to keep the surface of the cheese moist 
and prevent the growth of molds. The drier the cheese 
and the more mold, the oftener the cheeses must be 



144 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

rubbed. The drying or the evaporation from the cheese 
can be retarded by sprinkHng the floor of the cellar with 
water. When first placed in the curing cellar, they are 
usually rubbed daily ; after a few days they are rubbed 
every other day and finally as often as the cheese-maker 
can find time to work at them. The more the cheeses 
are rubbed, the better the rind. 

In the curing of Limburger cheese, protein compounds 
are attacked by the micro-organisms. Certain highly- 
flavored fatty acids are commonly produced.^ This 
change works most rapidly near the outside and more 
slowly toward the center of the cheese. The stage of 
ripening can be determined by examining the cheese. 
When first made, a cheese is harsh and hard and the 
outside is more or less white : as the curing changes take 
place, the cheese becomes soft and pasty or buttery. 
The outside color changes from a whitish to a yellowish 
and finally even a reddish brown. It requires consider- 
able time for the ripening agents to work from the outside 
to the center of the cheese. As ripening progresses, 
Limburger cheeses tend to become soft enough to break 
in handling. If such cheeses are wrapped in manila 
paper after three to four weeks of ripening and packed 
in boxes, losses from handling are eliminated. One 
loose board is left on each box and the boxes remain in 
the ripening cellar until the cheese-maker decides by 
removal and examination of cheeses from time to time 
that they are ready for shipment. When fully ripe, 
the cheese spoils very quickly. Unless handled very 
carefully, the outer part may actually rot before the 
interior is fully ripe. The cheeses are shipped from the 

^ Currie, J. N., Flavor of Roquefort cheese, Jour. Agr. Re- 
search 2 (1914), no. 1, pages 1-14. 



SOFT CHEESES RIPENED BY BACTERIA 145 

factory when they are eight to ten weeks old. They are 
then phiced in cold storage, which checks the action of 
the ripening agents and so lengthens the commercial life 
of the cheese. 

163. Marketing and qualities of Limburger. — As 
shipped from the factory, each cheese is wrapped in 
heavy manila paper and frequently also in tin-foil. The 
cheeses are packed in boxes which hold forty-eight. 
Each cheese weighs about two pounds. 

Limburger cheese should be regular in shape. The 
rind should not be cracked or broken nor the sides bulged, 
nor should it be lopsided. It should have the pronounced 
characteristic flavor, without other objectionable flavors 
due to undesirable fermentations. The bod}^ should be 
uniform throughout. It is common to find cheeses that 
have not a uniform body, due to lack of curing ; a small 
part of the interior at the center will be hard and not 
cured, while the remainder of the cheese will be soft and 
buttery. The color should be uniform. When not en- 
tirely cured, the uncured part at the center is usually of 
a lighter color. 

The cheese should contain the proper amount of 
salt. The most common defect is in the flavor. If the 
milk is not free from bad odors and flavors, these are 
apt to be more pronounced in the cheese than in the milk. 
(For care of milk see Chapter II.) Gas-forming fer- 
mentations are very bad in this variety of cheese as they 
cannot be controlled and give the cheese a bad flavor 
and a " gassy body." When a cheese is gassy, the sides 
are most liable to be bulged and the body is full of gas 
holes or pockets. Another defect is a sour cheese. This 
is caused by the development of too much acid in the 
milk or during the manufacturing process. A sour 



146 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

cheese usually cures slowly and has a pronounced sour 
taste. The body is hard and bitter. 

If the cheese contains too much moisture, it will cure 
rapidly and the body will be very soft and pasty. In 
extreme cases it will be so soft that it will run w^hen the 
rind is broken. On the other hand if the cheese does not 
contain sufficient moisture, it will cure very slowly and 
the body will be hard and dry and sometimes crumbly. 
There is no standard score-card for judging Limburger 
cheese. The Wisconsin Cheese-makers Association ^ 
uses the following score-card for Limburger : 

Flavor 40 

Texture 40 

Color 10 

Salt 5 

Style _5 

Total 100 

164. Yield and composition of Limburger. — The yield 
of cheese depends on: (1) the amount of fat and other 
solids in the milk from which it is made ; (2) the amount 
of moisture incorporated into cheese; (3) the loss of 
solids during the manufacturing process. 

The yield A-aries from 12 to 14 pounds of cheese from 
100 pounds of milk. The more fat and other solids in 
the milk, the more cheese can be made from 100 pounds 
of the milk. The more moisture incorporated into the 
cheese, the larger the yield. The quality of the cheese 
and the amount of solids determine the amount of mois- 
ture that can be incorporated into the cheese. The 
greater the losses during the manufacturing process, the 

* Wis. Cheese-makers Assoc, 12th Annual Meeting and Report, 
1906, page xx\iii. 



SOFT CHEESES. RIPENED BY BACTERIA 147 

less is the yield. The composition of Limburger cheese 
is affected by the same factors as the yield. The average 
cheese probably carries from 40 to 42 per cent of moisture. 
Limburger cheeses will vary in composition from this 
analysis about as follows : water 38 to 44 per cent, protein 
21 to 25 per cent, fat 25 to .30 per cent. The differences 
in practice in factory groups are considerable. Certain 
markets call for more solid brands, others for the very soft 
forms. 

165. Miinster cheese originated in Germany near 
the city whose name it bears. There is a limited de- 
mand for this variety in America ; therefore it is not 
extensively made. It is usually manufactured from 
whole milk in a Limburger or Brick cheese factory. 
The process of manufacture is between that of these two 
varieties in temperatures used, firmness of curd and amount 
of moisture in the curd and cheese. The process is prob- 
ably more like that of Limburger. The curd is firmed 
more in the whey than for Limburger, and more acid is 
developed. The cheeses are pressed or drained in round 
forms 7 inches in diameter and 6 inches high. The hoops 
are lined with cloth to prevent the loss of curd particles 
while draining. When the cheeses are sufficiently drained, 
until they are firm enough to hold their shape, the cloths 
are removed. The cheese is salted by rubbing dry salt 
on the surface or soaking the cheese in brine. The prod- 
uct is handled in the curing room very much the same 
as Limburger or Brick cheese. When sufficiently ripe, 
each cheese is wrapped in parchment paper and placed 
in a separate wooden box. This cheese, when cured, has 
a characteristic flavor which is between that of Limburger 
and Brick. The body is more or less open. The essential 
factor in the manufacture of IVIiinster cheese is clean 



148 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

milk. Bad fermentations, such as produce gas and bad 
flavors, seriously interfere with the manufacture and 
sale of the product. The cheese is usually made in the 
late fall and winter, when it is difficult to manufacture 
Limburger. 



CHAPTER X 

SEMI- HARD CHEESES 

Between the quickly perishable soft cheeses and the 
typical hard group, are two series of varieties, one 
ripened by green mold and best known by Roquefort, 
the other ripened by bacteria and typified by Brick 
cheese. These cheeses are fairly firm, hold their shape 
well, ripen over a period varying from a few weeks to 
several months and their marketable period is com- 
paratively long. In texture they are intermediate be- 
tween the conditions known as " soft " and " hard." 
In water-content, they range at their best from 37 to 
45 per cent. Outside these limits, the cheeses are often 
marketable but they lose in quality ^ and trueness to type. 

166. The green mold group. — There are three well- 
known semi-hard cheeses ripened by green or blue-green 
mold.^ The mold is an incidental factor in certain other 
forms but none of these forms has won larger than local 
or purely national recognition. French Roquefort, on the 
contrary, is probably the most widely known of all cheeses. 
Stilton, to a small degree at least, has followed the English 
to the many lands they inhabit. Gorgonzola, although 

^ Currie, J. N., The relation of composition to quality in 
cheese, American Food Jour. 11 (191G), no. 9, page 4.58. See also 
Dox on the True Composition of Roquefort Cheese, Ztsch. 
Untersuch. Nahr. u. Genussmtl. 22 (1911), pages 239-242. 

2 Thom, C, and Matheson, K. .J., Biology of Roquefort cheese, 
Storrs Exp. Sta. Bui. 79, pages 335-347, 1914. 

149 



150 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

made in Italy alone, has a large market in other parts of 
Europe and in America. In the manipulations of manu- 
facture, these forms are not closely related but they re- 
semble each other in that each becomes streaked or 
marbled by the growth of green mold {Penicillium Roque- 
forti) through open spaces within the cheese. The 
*' blue-veined " or marbled cheeses have a characteristic 
taste which is developed in its most typical form in 
Roquefort. 

167. Roquefort cheese. — This is a rennet cheese 
made from sheep's milk (with occasional and minor 
admixture of goat's and cow's milk) in the section of 
southern France centering about Roquefort in iVveyron. 
The practices are standardized and controlled by a few 
companies, thus reaching exceptional uniformity. Roque- 
fort is uncolored, open, made from firm but brittle or 
crumbly, not tough or waxy curd. Each cheese is about 
7j inches (20 cm.) in diameter and oj inches (9 cm.) in 
thickness without a definite rind, and when ripe enough 
for market is scraped carefully, closely covered with 
tin-foil and kept in refrigerators. The cut cheese shows 
extensi\e open spaces which are lined with green mold. 
This cheese, in addition to a strong cheesy odor and taste, 
has a peppery or burning quality which according to 
Currie ^ is due to the formation of volatile fatty acids 
such as caproic, caprylic and capric from the butter-fat 
of the sheep's milk used. A series for Roquefort cheeses 
selected for excellent quality was found by Dox - to show 
the following composition : 

^ Currie, J. N., Flavor of Roquefort cheese, Jour. Agr. Re- 
search, 2 (1914), 1, pages 1-14, Washington. 

2 Dox, A. W., Die Zusammensetzung des echten Roquefort- 
Kases, in Ztsehr. Untersuch. Nahr. u. Genussmtl. Bd. 22, Heft. 
4, pages 239-242, 1911. 



SEMI-HARD CHEESES 



151 



TABLE IV 

Composition of Roquefort Cheese 





Water 
Per 
Cent 


Fat 
Per 
Cent 


Protein 
Per 
Cent 


Ash 
Per 

Cent 


Salt 
Per 
Cent 


Average .... 
Minimum . . . 
Maximum . 


38.69 
37.49 
40.10 


32.31 
31.50 
33.53 


21.39 
19.14 
23.06 


6.14 

5.18 
6.81 


4.14 
3.64 

4.88 



The composition of the sheep's milk of the Roquefort 
producing region is reported by Marre : ^ 





TABLE V 

Composition of Sheep's Milk 






Water 
Per 
Cent 


Casein 
Per 
Cent 


Fat 
Per 
Cent 


Lactose 
Per 
Cent 


Ash 
Per 
Cent 


Range .... 
Average .... 


76-83 
79.5 


5-8 
6.5 


5.5-10.5 
8.0 


4 to 5 
4.5 


0.8-1.2 

1.0 





The cheeses when properly made in the local factories 

are transported to Roquefort for ripening in the famous 

caves which have made possible the development of a 

great industry. 

The Roquefort caves were originally natural openings 

leading back into the face of a cliff until they reached a 

deep, narrow fault or crack in the rock leading to the 

plains above. The cooler air from the plains came down 

this crack over moist and dripping rocks and issued 

through these clefts in a cold moisture-laden current 

which kept the caves about 50 to 55° F. and moist enough 

to ripen the cheeses without shrinkage. As the business 

1 Marre, E., Le Roquefort, Rodez, 1906. This is the authorita- 
tive monograph on Roquefort cheese problems. 



152 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

outgrew the natural caves, great cellars, some of them 
five or six floors deep, were excavated and tunnels were 
dug back to the crack so that the strong ventilating 
current reaches every part of the cellars and keeps both 
temperature and relative humidity favorable to the 
ripening of the cheeses. 

168. Cow's milk or Facons Roquefort. — The supply 
of Roquefort is automatically limited by the supply of 
sheep's milk. The sheep gives milk only about five 
months in the year and at best a scant average of about 
a pint a day to a sheep. Sheep's milk for cheese-making 
is not produced, therefore, outside of very limited regions. 
Some cow's and goat's milk unavoidably finds its way 
regularly into the industry itself. x\ttempts were nat- 
urally made to substitute cow's milk. Outside the con- 
trolled area, factories were established for this purpose. 
The quality of the product did not equal that of the 
Roquefort factories, and French courts decreed that the 
name Roquefort should not be used for such products. 
Although some local success was obtained, not much prog- 
ress was made against the intrenched Roquefort industry. 
Similar attempts to make such a product in Germany ^ 
were tried on an extensive scale but failed. More re- 
cently, under the inspiration of Conn, the United States 
Department of Agriculture and the Storrs Experiment 
Station hdve studied the possibilities of such an industry. 
Although the work is not completed, the preliminary 
reports ^ have indicated the fundamental principles 
which must underlie such development. 

^ Reported on the word of Prof. Fleischmann. 

^ Thorn, C, J. N. Currie and K. J. Matheson, Studies relating 
to the Roquefort and Camembert types of cheese, Storrs Exp. 
Sta. Bui. 79, pages 335-394, 1914. 



SEMI -HARD CHEESES 153 

169. Outline of making Roquefort. — Some of the 
results of these experiments are summarized in the fol- 
lowing paragraphs : 

Milk. — Clean-flavored fresh milk testing 4-4.2 per 
cent fat and up to 2.8 percent casein gives the best results. 
The milk with a high percentage of cheese-making solids 
forms a firmer curd, hence works up better in the process 
than milk of lower quality. 

Acidity. — The milk is ripened by lactic starter up to 
an acidity of 0.23 per cent titrated as lactic acid at the 
time rennet is added. This gives a firm curd, which 
drains to the desired water-content but is low enough 
to prevent the toughening efl^ect of too high acid. A 
very slight increase in initial acid — 1 to 2 hundredths 
per cent — combined with the rate at which acidity is 
developing introduces such physical changes in texture 
as to make the final texture of Roquefort impossible. 

Temperature. — Rennet is added at or below 84° F. 
Every degree of heat adds definitely to the efficiency of 
rennet. Below 82° F., curdling becomes slower and the 
coagulum softer and more difficult to drain. The sheep's 
milk curd is made from 76° to 84° F. but sheep's milk 
has about twice the cheese solids found in cow's milk. 
It was found necessary to raise the temperature as high 
as texture would permit. However, at 86° F. the physical 
character of the curd tends to become tough or waxy 
in handling. At 84° F. the curd remains brittle and 
crumbly. It was, therefore, necessary to keep the cur- 
dling temperature down to 84° F. 

Renneting or setting. — Rennet at a rate of 3 to 4 
ounces of standard liquid rennet to 1000 pounds (10 to 12 
c.c. to 100 pounds) was found to give the best curd 
under experimental conditions. 



154 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

Curdling time. — One and one-half to two hours gave 
most satisfactory results in forming curd. This should 
be very firm and stand until it begins to " sweat," luitil 
beads of whey have begun to collect upon its surface. 

Cutting. — The cow's milk curd gave best results when 
cut in two directions with the half-inch curd knife. The 
resulting columns, a half inch square in cross-section, 
may be handled without excessive losses. 

Draining. — The cut curd is dipped to a draining rack 
covered with cloth with as little breaking as possible. 
During the draining process, a certain amount of turning 
is necessary to facilitate the separation and escape of 
the w^hey. If handled too much, losses of fat are in- 
creased and the curd becomes tough or waxy instead of 
remaining brittle or crumbly. When properly handled, 
not over 0.35 per cent of fat is lost. Under favorable 
conditions, four-ninths to two-thirds of the original weight 
of curd will separate and run off as whey in twenty to 
thirty minutes. The curd meanwhile is exposed to the 
air of the room and cools toward room temperature. If 
cooling goes too far, further drainage is interfered with. 
Hence the curd is put into the hoop and the drainage 
completed while the cheese is reaching its final form. 

Hoop. — Hoops for cow's milk Roquefort must be 
7 J inches in diameter and about 5f inches high to hold 
curd enough to produce a cheese the size of the standard 
Roquefort when completely drained. Sheep's milk with 
its higher percentage of solids does not require such 
high hoops. The curd as it goes into the hoop should 
be a soft, pulpy mass with no suggestion of toughness. 

Inoculation with mold. — The mold for Roquefort 
cheese {Penicillium Roqueforti ^) is readily grown in pure 

1 Thorn, C, U. S. Dept. Agr. Bur. An. Ind. Bui. 82, 1905. 



SEMI-HARD CHEESES 155 

culture in ordinary loaves of bread. For this purpose 
loaves hot from the oven are quickly drenched with or 
immersed in hot parafRne to form an impervious crust 
to retain moisture as well as to keep out contaminations. 
It is then allowed to cool. The interior of each loaf is 
inoculated by drawing a suspension of P. Roqueforti 
spores in water into a sterile pipette (10 c.c.) which is 
then thrust through the paraffined crust to the center of 
the loaf of bread and allowed to empty there. The hole 
is sealed up with paraffine. These loaves are incubated 
for about a month at room temperature. When cut, 
every open space should be found lined with the green 
spores of the mold. When dry enough, the mass may be 
powdered, and put into an ordinary pepper box. When 
the curd is ready to go into the hoop, this mold powder 
is sprinkled upon it from the pepper box. 

HandUng. — Freshly made cheeses are turned within 
the first hoar to insure the proper smoothness of both 
sides. Further draining is best accomplished in a room 
at about 64° F. with a relative humidity of 85 to 90 per 
cent. If the surface of the cheese becomes too dry, a rind 
is formed. No real rind is permitted on Roquefort. 
If the temperature is too high, slime forms quickly and 
unfavorable fermentation may occur. Slime (bacteria and 
Oidium lactis usually) must be scraped when it becomes 
too heavy. 

Salting. ^ — Experimental cheeses were found to give 
the best results when at the end of about three days' 
drainage they contained about 50 per cent water. Such 
cheeses were salted by sprinkling the entire surface 
lightly, replaced upon the drain boards for one day, 

^ Thorn, C, The salt factor in the mold ripened cheeses, 
Storrs Exp. Sta. Bui. 79, pages 387-394, 1914. 



156 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

salted again and piled in two's. After another day they 
received the third salting and were piled in three's for 
two days longer. A total of about 10 per cent by weight 
of salt was used to secure an absorption of 4 per cent. 
At the same time the water-content dropped to 40 to 
43 per cent. After salting is completed, the cheeses 
are brushed and punched with holes to permit oxygen 
to enter.^ They are then ready for ripening. 

170. Ripening of Roquefort. ^- The ripening of ex- 
perimental Roquefort has required four to six months 
at a relative humidity of 85 to 90 per cent. This relative 
humidity is just below the equilibrium relative humidity 
of the cheese, hence permits a shrinkage of 2 to 4 per 
cent in the water-content of the cheese. This makes it 
possible to control the amount of surface slime developed. 

If the relative humidity goes too high, the surface slime 
of bacteria and yeasts becomes very heavy, soft and 
almost liquid, and follows the openings into the cheese 
with resultant damage to appearance and flavor. Even 
under the conditions at Roquefort, this slime must be 
removed by rubbing or scraping several times to avoid 
injury to the cheeses, together with the production of 
bad odor and taste. If the humidity becomes too loW, 
the surface becomes dry, hard and cracks open, the 
friable crumbly texture is injured, and there is consider- 
able loss in weight. Salt forms about 4 per cent of the 
cheese. This is in solution in the water present, which 
is about 40 per cent, and' makes a brine of about 10 per 
cent strength. This strength of brine does not prevent 
the growi:h of the Roquefort mold (Penicillium Roqueforti) 
but does hinder the development of Oidium lactis in the 

^ Thorn, C, and Currie, J. N., The dominance of Roquefort 
mold in cheese, Jour. Biol. Chem. 15 (1913), no. 2, pages 247-258. 



SEMI-HARD CHEESES 157 

open spaces within the cheese. Accurate adjustment of 
temperature and relative humidity in the ripening rooms 
to salt and water-content in the cheese is essential to 
proper ripening. These conditions are furnished by the 
unique natural conditions of the caves of Roquefort. 
The production of such cheeses elsewhere depends either 
on the discovery of another locality with closely similar 
conditions or on the artificial production and control of 
the necessary temperature and relative humidity. This 
has been done on an experimental basis by the use of 
cold storage apparatus combined with proper humidifiers. 

The differences between working with sheep's and 
with cow's milk lie in the making process rather than in 
the ripening. Sheep's milk freshly drawn shows a higher 
acidity than cow's milk, probably on account of the acid 
reaction of its greater casein content. With nearly 
double the total solids of cow's milk, the yield to one 
hundred pounds is much greater, consequently the drain- 
age of the curd is much more easily handled. 

Once made and salted, the cheeses require very nearly 
the sam.e conditions of ripening. The resultant products 
are alike in appearance and texture. In flavor, cow's 
milk Roquefort differs in character from sheep's milk 
cheese to such a degree as to be recognized by taste. 
The difference was found by Currie ^ to be due to an actual 
difference in the combination of fatty acids present. 

Although these differences in character are recognizable 
by the expert in testing the cheese, as well as by chemical 
analysis, cow's milk Roquefort would satisfy that large 
proportion of consumers who use such cheese only in 
connection with other fairly high flavored foods. The 

^ Currie, J. N., The composition of Roquefort cheese fat. 
Jour. Agr. Research, 2 (1914), 6, pages 429-434. 



158 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



demands for technical skill and factory equipment are 
not naturally greater than for many other lines of cheese- 
making. The gradual development of a cow's milk 
Roquefort may be anticipated. 

171. Gorgonzola ^ is a rennet cheese made from fresh 
whole cow's milk, in northern Italy. It takes its 
name from the village of Gorgonzola, a few miles from 
Milan, but the manufacture of the cheese has spread 




Fig. 24. — Gorgouzola ripening establishment in valley near Lecco. 



over a wide area. The cheeses are made on farms and 
in factories from which they are transported for ripening 
to cool valleys of the Alps, principally near Lecco (Fig. 24). 
Boeggild introduced the making of a cheese after the 
Gorgonzola process into Denmark about 1885. This 
industry has been successful on a small scale since that 
time. Gorgonzola cheeses are about 30 cm. (12 inches) 
in diameter and 18 cm. (7 inches) thick and weigh 15 
to 20 pounds. As exported they are usually heavily 

^ Thorn, C, Soft cheese studies in Europe, U. S. Dept. Agr. 
Bur. An. Ind. Kept. 22, pages 79-109, 1905. 



SEMI-HARD CHEESES 159 

coated ^ with a mixture usually barite, tallow and lard 
colored with annatto or other chetese color. This coating 
prevents shrinkage or mold on the surface of the cheese in 
transit. When cut these cheeses vary greatly. All show 
marbling with mold (Roquefort mold). During their 
ripening they become very slimy at the surface. To 
open up air spaces for mold growth, this slime is scraped 
off and holes are punched into the cheeses. These holes 
are readily seen in the final product. Some show crumbly 
texture, well distributed mold, as in Roquefort, with 
flavor approaching that cheese ; in others the texture 
is waxy rather than crumbly, a condition correlated 
regularly with different character in the flavor. Fre- 
quently in whole areas or in small pockets, slime consist- 
ing of bacteria and Oidiiim has followed the openings 
into the cheese and affects its odor and taste. 

Experimental Gorgonzola cheeses comparable with 
the Italian product were made with cow's milk ripened 
as for Roquefort or higher, to 0.25-0.30 per cent (titrated 
as lactic acid), curdled at 86° F. (30° C), cut into cubes 
and slightly stirred, then dipped to a draining board for 
about one-half hour, and put into the hoop. The cheeses 
drained quickly to about 50 per cent water and developed 
a surface rind as in the harder cheeses. Cut surfaces 
showed a fairly open cheese in which mold grew readily. 
These cheeses were salted to taste, not to a specified 
percentage. They ripened with the same irregular 
results and the characteristic range of flavors found in 
Gorgonzola. To avoid the rotting of the cheese by sur- 

iFrestadius, A., Nord. Mejeri Tid. 17 (1912), 14, page 159, 
Abs. N. Y. Produce Rev. 34 (1912), 2, page 54, and Cutting, 
W. B., The use of baritine in cheese rinds, Mo. Commerce and 
Trade Repts. 1908, 337, page 144, also in Practical Dairyman, 2 
(1908), 7, page 76. 



160 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



face growths, they were exposed to low humidities for a 
time and cracks opened at the surfaces, as seen in the 
ripening rooms at Lecco (Fig. 24). The texture was 
more or less waxj^ or tough, which was correlated with 
the slightly higher heat at jenneting together with the 
stirring or " working " of the curd. Comparative an- 
alyses of a series of imported cheeses confirm the inter- 
pretation that the salt-content of Roquefort, 4 per cent 




Fig. 25. — Gorgonzola cheese curing-room. 



approximately, prevents the invasion of the interior of 
the cheese by Oidium. No complete study of the ripen- 
ing of Gorgonzola has been made. As far as followed, 
it consists in an initial souring process followed by ripen- 
ing by molds and slime organisms. At its best, Gorgon- 
zola is nearly equal to Roquefort but the percentage of 



SEMI-HARD CHEESES 161 

such quality is low. In spite of its irregular quality, 

England has used larger amounts of Gorgonzola than of 

Roquefort. Considerable quantities have been imported 

for the Italian trade in the United States. 

172. Stilton cheese bears the name of an English 

village ^ in which it was first sold. It is made from cow's 

milk and is t^^jically a whole milk cheese, although part 

skim cheeses are regularly made and sold as lower grades. 

In the Stilton-making counties, the milk from Shorthorn 

cattle testing about 3.5 to 4.0 per cent fat is preferred 

to richer or poorer grades. Such milk is curdled with 

rennet at about 86° F. in about one hour ; the curd is 

cut, dipped to a draining table covered with cloth and 

drained slow^ly over a period of several hours, commonly 

overnight. During this period considerable acidity is 

developed. The curd is then milled or broken by hand, 

salted, packed into hoops 15 to 16 inches high and 7 

inches in diameter. These hoops are made from heavy 

tin (Fig. 26) with four rows of holes about to' inch in 

diameter. The freshly filled hoops are allowed to 

stand and drain without pressure, in a room at about 

70° F. (Fig. 26). Such cheeses are turned every day 

for several days. When solid enough to stand the hoops 

are removed, the cheeses are scraped or rubbed wdth a 

knife until the surface is smooth, and commonly wrapped 

with a cloth bandage to maintain the shape, if the 

cheese is still too soft to stand firmly. In the factories, 

several rooms are used with varying temperature and 

relative humidities, which makes it possible to place each 

^ Stilton Cheese — J. P. Sheldon — from abs. by New York 
Produce Rev. 28 (June 16, 1909), no. 8, pages 362-363. Stilton is 
said to have originated with Mrs. Paulet, Wymondliam, Co. of 
Leicester, and to have been sold by her brother — Host of the 
"Bill" at Stilton from which village it derived its name. 



162 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



cheese under the condition best suited to its texture and 
condition of ripeness. In general, the dairy sections of 
England are much more humid than those of America 
and there are less violent changes in temperature. Stilton 




Fig. 26. — Stilton cheeses in hoops, draining. 

cheese-making has grown up to take advantage of this 
climatic factor in handling the product. Transplanta- 
tion of such an industry necessitates a mastery not only 
of the manipulations but a grasp of the fundamental 
principles underlying the process and a readjustment of 
practices to preser\'e those principles. 



SEMI-HARD CHEESES 163 

Stilton is, then, a soured curd cheese in whose ripening 
a very prominent part is played by the green mold (usu- 
ally some strain of P. Roqueforti) which grows throughout 
the cavities of its mass.^ At its best, it has attractive 
texture and flavor. Much of it fails to reach high quality 
on account of the invasion of bacteria, Oidium lactis, and 
very frequently myriads of cheese mites. The following 
analysis was furnished as typical for ripe cheese by 
Miles Benson,^ late professor of dairying at Reading, 
England : Water 31 per cent, fat 36 per cent, casein 
29 per cent, mineral constituents including salt about 
4 per cent. Approximately the same figures are given 
by Primrose McConnell (Agricultural Note Book). The 
low percentage of salt is another factor of uncertainty 
in the control of this Stilton product, as in Gorgon- 
zola, since these cheeses are commonly high in water- 
content at first and are thus subject to invasion by 
Oidium. 

Stilton has been made on a small scale in Canada ^ 
and occasionally attempted in the United States. No 
serious effort to develop an industry of commercial im- 
portance has been made in America. Comparative study 
of the cheeses ripened by green mold tends to the con- 
viction that the adaptation of the Roquefort practice to 
the use of cow's milk offers a more satisfactory basis for 
experiment than efforts to establish a Stilton or a Gorgon- 
zola industry. 

^ Pereival, J., and G. Heather Mason, The microflora of Stil- 
ton cheese, Jour. Agr. Sci. 5 (1913), part 2, pages 222-229. See 
also Thorn, C, Soft cheese studies in Europe, U. S. Dept. Agr. 
Bur. An. Ind. Kept. 22 (1905), pages 79-109. 

^ Benson, Miles, in personal letter from analyses of cheeses 
selected for the purpose. 

^ Dean, H. H., The Creamery Journal, Nov. 1904. 



164 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

173. Gex. — A cheese under this name made in southern 
France resembles, in its general character as a ripened 
cheese, the English Stilton and Italian Gorgonzola. Al- 
though it has no commercial importance, reference is made 
to this cheese to show that mold-ripened cheeses have been 
developed entirely independently in different countries to 
bring about the same general character of product. 

174. Bacterially ripened series. — The semi-hard cheeses 
ripened by bacteria stand half-way between true Lim- 
burger and the hard forms. In fact, brands of Lim- 
burger are readily found which approach the texture and 
ripening of Brick cheese. In the same way, Brick cheeses 
are often found which have the appearance, texture and 
much of the flavor of the Cheddars with only a trace of 
the taste of Limburger. Port du Salut, Oka, Miinster, 
in France Livarot, in the Balkan regions Kascoval, belong 
in this series. 

175. Brick cheese. — The name of this cheese is 
probably due to the finished product being about the size 
and shape of a brick. It is similar to the German cheese 
Biickstein and may have been developed from it. It is 
typically a sweet-curd cheese, made from milk freshly 
drawn, without permitting the development of appre- 
ciable quantities of acidity until after the curd has been 
put into the hoop. In the making process, it is inter- 
mediate between Limburger and the cheeses of the Cheddar 
group. Some cheese-makers use an ordinary cheese vat, 
others a copper kettle in manufacturing. 

It is the usual practice to deliver the milk to the cheese 
factory both morning and evening, without cooling. 
Cheese is made twice a day. In some cases the milk 
is delivered only once a day, and extra precautions must 
then be taken to care for the milk properly. 



SEMI-HARD CHEESES 165 

The discussion of the care of milk in Chapter II 
appHes to that for Brick cheese. For the best 
quality of cheese, the milk in the vat should show 
about 0.15 of 1 per cent acidity and never above 0.18 of 
1 per cent.^ 

176. Making of Brick cheese.^ — The milk is received 
at the cheese factory at a temperature of about 92° to 
96° F. For the best results, the acidity should be deter- 
mined (by the acid test) to decide on the amount of 
starter to use. Few Brick cheese-makers use an acid 
test or a starter but these precautions would improve the 
product of many factories. For method of using the acid 
test, see Chapter V. Chapter IV discusses the prepa- 
ration and use of starter. Usually 0.25 to 0.50 of 1 
per cent of starter is the amount required. A small 
amount of starter is used to aid the development of lactic 
acid and for the beneficial efl'ect it has on the flavor. 
A very small development of acid is desired after adding 
the starter ; therefore the change in acidity should be 
very carefully watched with the acid test. The vat is 
usually set when the acid test shows 0.16 of 1 per cent 
acidity. The more acid in the milk, the less starter should 
be employed. Sufficient rennet extract should be used 
to give a coagulation suitable for cutting in thirty to 
thirty-five minutes. For method of adding the rennet 
extract, see Chapter V. When the coagulum is firm 

1 N. Y. Produce Rev. etc., Vol. 32, no. 14, page 536. 

2 N. Y. Produce Rev. etc., Vol. 30, no. 5, page 188; Vol. 30, 
no. 14, page 534 ; Vol. 31, no. 5, page 182. 

Marty, G., Brick cheesemaking, Wis. Cheese-makers Assoc, 
15tli Annual Meeting, 1907, page 66. 

Wuethrieh, F., The manufacture of Brick cheese, Wis. Cheese- 
makers Assoc, 14th Annual Meeting, 1906, page 50. 

Schenk, C, Brick cheesemaking. Wis. Cheese-makers Assoc, 
13th Annual Meeting, 1905, page 38. 



166 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

enough for the curd to break clean over the finger, it is 
ready to cut. The curd is cut with coarse knives into 
f- or ^inch cubes. After cutting, the curd is let stand 
three to five minutes, then stirred with the hands for a 
few minutes until the whey begins to separate and then 
stirred with the rake. Some makers do not stir by hand 
but use the rake directly after cutting. When this is 
done, great care must be exercised to stir the curd with- 
out breaking up the pieces, because this causes a loss of 
fat. After cutting the curd is stirred for twenty to thirty 
minutes before the steam is turned on. The curd is 
heated very slowly at first and more rapidly during the 
last stages of cooking. The curd is cooked to a tempera- 
ture of 110° to 115° F. The lower the temperature that 
can be used to produce firm curd, the better the texture 
of the eheese. After cutting and during the cooking, 
the curd must be constantly stirred so that lumps will 
not form. When the curd forms lumps, the moisture is 
not evenly expelled. This results in uneven texture and 
curing. Sometimes some salt is added to the curd in 
the vat to restrain souring. The curd is stirred after 
cooking until it is sufficiently firm. It remains usually 
in the whey for a total period of one and one-fourth to 
one and one-half hours from the time of cutting. It is* 
then dipped into forms 10 inches long by 5 inches wide 
by 8 inches deep. The forms are without top or bottom 
and are placed on a draining table. This table is so 
constructed that the whey can be saved for stock feed. 
When ready to " dip," the whey is drawn down to the 
surface of the curd in the vat, then the curd is dipped 
into the forms or hoops. Care must be taken to get the 
same amount of curd into each form to produce the cheeses 
of uniform size. Each cheese is turned several times 



SEMI-HARD CHEESES 167 

to insure even draining and even reduction of the temper- 
ature. While draining, a follower is placed in each hoop 
and a weight placed on each cheese. Usually a brick 
is used for this weight. A cheese is allowed to drain or 
press for ten to fifteen hours. It is then placed on the 
salting table and rubbed with coarse salt. While on the 
salting table, a cheese is placed on its broad side. Some 
cheese-makers prefer to salt their cheeses by soaking them 
in a salt brine. This brine should be strong enough to 
float an egg. Salting requires three days. The cheeses 
are then brushed free from excess salt and taken to the 
cellar to cure or ripen. 

177. Ripening Brick cheese. — For this process, the 
cellars are kept at about 90 per cent relative humidity and 
a temperature of (30° to 65° F. Some prefer a tempera- 
ture for curing as high as 68° F. During the curing, the 
surfaces of the cheese are kept moist and mold growths 
kept down by rubbing or brushing the cheese with pure 
water or salt and water. In the curing cellars the cheeses 
are placed on shelves ; at first they are set close together 
and as they cure, they are separated. During curing, 
the color changes from a whitish to a reddish brown. 
The cheese cures from the outside toward the center. 
When first made, the product is harsh and hard in texture 
but during the ripening process it becomes mellow and 
smooth. The cheeses remain on the curing shelves for 
four to six weeks, after which they are wrapped in heavy 
waxed paper and boxed. A cheese ready for market 
usually weighs about five pounds. A Brick cheese box is 
5 inches deep by 20 inches wide by 3 feet long, and holds 
110 to 115 pounds of cheese. 

178. Qualities of Brick cheese. — The cheeses should 
be neat and attractive and the rind not cracked or broken. 



168 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

The sides should be square and not bulged. The cheese 
should have a clean, characteristic Brick cheese flavor. 
The body and texture should be mellow and smooth and 
when rubbed between the thumb and forefinger, should 
break down like cold butter. The color should be uni- 
form. The cheese should contain the proper amount of 
salt and moisture. One of the worst faults with Brick 
cheese is bad flavor. This is many times due to the 
cheese-maker not using clean flavored starter. It may 
also be due to bad flavored milk. A Brick cheese-maker 
has no means of controlling gassy fermentations. These 
show themselves in the bad flavor of the cheese and in 
the porous body. They also cause the cheese to bulge. 
If detected, gassy milk should be rejected. If too much 
acid is developed, a sour cheese is the result. This will 
not cure normally and usually has a sour flavor. The 
body will be brittle and mealy. If too much salt is used, 
the cheese may have a salty taste and it will cure very 
slowly. If not enough salt is used, the cheese may cure 
too rapidly and vmdesirable flavors and fermentations 
develop. The cheese must have the proper moisture- 
content ; if too much moisture is present, the cheese 
cures too fast and is soft and pasty in body ; if not enough 
moisture, then the reverse is true. Tabulation of cheeses 
of special quality, as submitted in scoring contests, show 
an average water-content of 37 to 38 per cent, with 
occasional cheeses verging toward Limburger in texture 
and flavor with 40 to 42 per cent water, and others in- 
distinguishable from Cheddar, with water-content as 
low as 34 per cent. 

The Wisconsin Cheese-makers Association uses the 
following score-card for the judging of Brick cheese on a 
scale of 100 : 



SEMI -HARD CHEESES 169 

Flavor 40 

Texture 40 

Color 10 

Salt 5 

Style _5^ 

100 

179. Composition and 3deld. — The composition of 
Brick cheese varies within wide limits. The average 
cheese probabl}' contains from 37 to 39 per cent of water, 
although many cheeses are above and below this average ; 
Doane and Lawson ^ give the fat as 28.86 per cent, pro- 
teins 23.8 per cent and total ash 4.20 per cent. 

The composition and yield are both affected by : (1) the 
moisture-content of the cheese ; (2) composition of the 
milk from which made ; and (3) losses during the manu- 
facturing process. The a^•erage yield of Brick cheese 
is 11 to 13 pounds to 100 pounds of milk. 

180. Port du Salut cheese. — The Trappist monks 
originated this type of cheese in their monasteries in 
France. Under the name of their community Oka, it 
has been made and sold widely by the Trappist Fathers 
of Quebec. In recent years, factories independent of 
the order have made such cheese both in America and 
in Europe. 

The following outline of the making process indicates 
the close relationship between Port du Salut and Brick 
cheeses. Whole milk or milk not over one-fifth skimmed 
is ripened to medium acidity, then heated to 90° to 95° F. 
according to season and acidity. Rennet enough is 

' Doane, C. F., and H. W. Lawson, Varieties of cheese, de- 
scriptions and analysis, U. S. Dept. Agr. Bur. of An. Ind. Bui. 
146, 1911. 



170 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

added (see Chapter V) to curdle in thirty to forty min- 
utes, although some makers shorten the time to twenty 
minutes. When formed, the curd is cut into small cubes 
and excess of whey is dipped away. The constantly 
stirred mass is then heated or cooked to 100 to 105 F. 
within a period of ten to twelve minutes or according to 
some makers twenty to thirty minutes. It is allowed 
to stand a few minutes to settle. Most of the whey is 
then drawn and the mass is stirred vigorously to prevent 
fusion of the curd granules. The curd is ready for the 
hoop when the particles are about the size of grains of 
wheat and do not stick together when squeezed w^ith the 
hand. The individual grains of curd should crumble 
easily between the fingers. The hot curd is transferred 
directly to the hoops without cooling. For this purpose, 
a hoop is set upon the table covered with a cloth and the 
curd dipped into the cloth. The edges of the cloth are 
then folded over. In this condition the cheese is trans- 
ferred to the press where gradually increasing pressure 
begins with 3 to 4 pounds and reaches about 70 pounds. 
To insure proper shape, cheeses are turned and put into 
fresh cloths at the end of the first hour and turned subse- 
quently several times during the pressing period of about 
twelve hours. ^ 

Port du Salut cheeses are salted by rubbing fine salt 
on the surface by hand at the rate of 1.2 to 2 per cent 
of the weight of the cheese. After about two days in 
the salting process, they are put into the ripening cellars. 
The cellars are wet, since they reach 90 to 95 per cent 
relative humidity at a temperature of about 55° F. 
After two days in the cellar, the cheeses are plunged 

^ Ligeon, X., Herstellung des Port Salut Kases, Milchztg. 38 
(1909), no. 39, pages 459-460. 



SEMI-HARD CHEESES 171 

into a tank of saturated brine to which a trace of cheese 
color has been added. As they come out of these tanks, 
they are yellowish and greasy or slimy. They are re- 
turned to the shelves where they are rubbed every day 
with a cloth or by hands wet in brine. After about one 
week they are again plunged in the brine. Treatment 
with brine tends to insure a firm rind. The cheeses are 
rubbed more or less regularly with brine through the 
whole ripening period. 

After six weeks, such cheese may be eaten. The cut 
surface of Port du Salut is creamy in color, may or may 
not show small holes. In texture it is soft enough to 
spread readily under pressure without losing its shape 
in handling. In flavor the cheese is a mild form belong- 
ing to the Limburger group. 

Port du Salut cheeses as imported from France usually 
are firm round cakes about 1^ inches thick, weighing 
about 3 pounds. 



CHAPTER XI 
THE HARD CHEESES 

The hard cheeses form a great series of groups, whose 
most prominent physical character is their firm or hard 
texture. This is correlated with comparatively low 
water-content; which is usually between 30 and 40 per 
cent. Although certain \arieties occasionally test above 
40 per cent water, this deviation is accompanied by 
quick ri])ening and rapid sjioilage. These varieties of 
cheese are staple products with long marketable periods; 
therefore they may be handled in large lots, shipped, 
carted and stored freely without the losses such treat- 
ment would entail in soft cheese. The retailer frequently 
buys hard cheese by the ton, not by the cheese or by 
the box. 

In making, these varieties are characterized as cooked 
and pressed cheeses. Although both the heating of a 
curd and the pressing of a newly made cheese occur among 
semi-hard forms, these practices appear in their most 
typical forms in the hard cheeses. 

The hard cheeses show two types of texture. A cut 
cheese may appear smooth, free from holes or with a few 
angular cracks or seams, or it may show round holes or 
"eyes." In the smooth textured forms every effort is 
made to prevent gassy fermentations, usually by control- 
ling the fermentation of the curd in the making process. 

172 



THE HARD CHEESES 173 

When " eyes " are present, the end sought has been a 
development of a particular form of gassy fermentation 
which gives this api)earance and brings about the char- 
acteristic ripening texture and flavor. 

The hard cheeses have been developed in groups of 
national varieties. The best known of these groups are 
those which may be represented by English Cheddar, 
American Factory Cheddar, Danish, the Edam of Hol- 
land, Swiss and Parmesan with many related varieties 
in Italy and neighboring countries of southern Europe. 

181. The Danish group. — The Danish cheeses are 
related in appearance and flavor to the English group 
represented by Cheddar. The demand for butter in 
Europe has been so great that the Danish cheese-makers 
have developed skim and part skim \'arieties largely to 
the exclusion of the whole milk form. Skillful handling 
of their process has resulted in a product which has had 
a very large and appreciative market in England and 
Germany. 

182. The Dutch group. — Edam and Gouda are the 
two forms of cheese made in Holland and most widely 
known among other peoples. Both reach America in con- 
siderable quantities; both are shipped in large amounts 
to tropical countries. Although attempts have been 
made to manufacture them in America, no commercial 
production of these cheeses has been successful. Al- 
though whole milk grades of these cheeses are known, 
they are to a large measure part skim in manufacture. 
The presence of one or both of these forms in every large 
market in America makes the general facts of their produc- 
tion of general interest. Parts of a report on experimental 
work in the making of Edam and Gouda are, therefore, 
given here. 



174 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

183. Edam cheese ^ is a sweet-curd type, made from 
partially skimmed -milk. It comes to the market in the 
form of round red balls, each weighing from 3^ to 4 
pounds when cured. It is largely manufactured in 
northern Holland and derives its name from a town 
famous as a market for this kind of cheese.^ Milk from 
which one-fourth to one-third of the fat has been re- 
moved is used. Too great pains cannot be taken in 
regard to the condition of the milk. It should be fresh, 
free from every trace of taint ; in brief, it should be in 
as perfect condition as possible. 

184. Method of manufacture. — The following para- 
graphs give the steps in the manufacture of Edam cheese : 

Treatment of milk' before adding rennet. — The tempera- 
ture of the milk should be brought up to a point not 
below 85° F. nor much above 88° F. When the desired 
temperature has become constant, the coloring matter 
should be added. Cheese color is used at the rate of l| 
to 2 ounces for 1000 pounds of milk. The coloring matter 
should, of course, be added to the milk and thoroughly 
incorporated by stirring before the rennet is added. 

Additimi of rennet to milk. — The rennet should not be 
added until the milk has reached the desired temperature 
(85° to 88° F.) and this temperature has become constant. 

^ These paragraphs were taken from N. Y. Exp. Sta. Bui. 56, 
Experiments in the manufacture of cheese ; Part I. The manu- 
facture of Edam cheese, 1893. See also, Haeeker, T. L., Experi- 
ments in the manufacture of cheese, Minn. Exp. Sta. Bui. 35, 
1894. 

2 Boekhout, F. W. J., and J. J. O. de Vries, Cracking of Edam, 
Verslag. Landbouwk. Onderzoek. Rykslandboupoefstat. (Nether- 
lands), 20 (1917), pages 71-78, fig. 1. 

Boekhout, F. W. F., and J. J. O. de Vries, Sur le defaut 
"Knijpers" dans le fromage d'Edam, Rev. Gen. Lait, 9 (1913), 
no. 18, pages 420-427. 



THE HARD CHEESES 175 

When the temperature reaches the desired point and re- 
mains there stationary, the rennet extract is added. 
Rennet extract may be used, 4^ to 5^ ounces being taken 
for 1000 pounds of milk, or enough to coagulate the milk 
in the desired time, at the actual temperature used. 
The milk should be completely coagulated, ready for 
cutting, in about twelve to eighteen minutes from the 
time the rennet is added. The same precaution observed 
in making Cheddar cheese should be followed in making 
Edam cheese with reference to care in adding the rennet, 
such as careful, accurate measurement, dilution with 
pure water before addition to milk. 

Cutting the curd for Edam. — When the curd breaks 
clean across the finger, it should be cut ; it is cut a very 
little softer than in the Cheddar process as ordinarily prac- 
ticed. As stated, this stage of hardness in the curd which 
fits it for cutting should come in twelve to eighteen min- 
utes after the remiet is added. First, a vertical knife 
is used and the curd is cut lengthwise, after which it is 
allowed to stand until the slices of curd begin to show the 
separation of whey. Then the vertical knife is used in 
cutting crosswise, after which the horizontal knife is at 
once used. Any curd adhering to the bottom and sides 
of the vat is carefully removed by the hand, after which 
the curd-knife is again passed through the mass of curd 
lengthwise and crosswise, continuing the cutting until 
the curd has been cut as uniformly as possible into very 
small pieces. 

Treatment of Edam curd after cutting. — When the cutting 
is completed, one commences at once to heat the curd up 
to the temperature of 93° to 96° F. The heating is done 
as quickly as possible. While the heating is in progress, 
the curd is kept constantly agitated to prevent settling 



176 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

and consequent overheating. As soon as the curd shows 
signs of hardening, which the experience of the worker 
will enable him to determine, the whey is drawn off until 
the upper surface of the curd appears, when one should 
commence to fill the press molds. 

Filling molds, pressing and dressing Edam. — The 
molds, which are described later in detail, are well soaked 
in warm water previous to use, in order to prevent too 
sudden chilling of curd and consequent checking of sepa- 
ration of whey. As soon as whey is drawn off, as indi- 
cated above, one begins to fill the pressing molds (Fig. 27). 
The filling should be done as rapidly as possible to prevent 
too great cooling of curd, ^^^len the curd has been put 
into the molds, its temperature should 
not be below 88° F. Unless care is taken 
to keep the curd covered, the portion 
that is last put into the molds may be- 
come too much cooled. In making Edam 
Fig. 27. — Edam cheese ou a small scale, it is a good plan 
to squeeze the moisture out with the hands 
as much as possible and then break it up again before put- 
ting in the molds, when the curd should be pressed into 
the mold firmly by the hands. The molds should be filled 
as nearly alike as possible. The cheese should weigh from 
5 to 5j pounds each when ready for the press. When the 
filling of molds is completed, they are put under continual 
pressure of 20 to 25 pounds for about twenty-five or thirty 
minutes. AYhile the cheese is being pressed, some sweet 
whey is heated to a temperature of 125° or 130° F., and 
this whey should not be allowed to go below 120° F. at 
any time while it is being used. When the cheeses are 
taken from their molds, each is put into the warm whey 
for two minutes, then removed and dressed. For dress- 




THE HARD CHEESES 177 

ing Edam cheese, the ordinary cheese bandage cloth is 
used. This is cut into strips, which should be long enough 
to reach entirely around the cheese and overlap an inch 
or so, and which should be wide enough to cover all but 
a small portion of the ends of the cheese when put in 
place. Before putting on the bandage, all rough pro- 
jections should be carefully pared from the cheese. In 
putting on, the cheese is held in one hand and the bandage 
is wrapped carefully around the cheese, so that the whole 
is covered, except a small portion on the upper and lower 
surface of the cheese. These bare spots are covered by 
small pieces of bandage cloth of a size sufficient to fill 
the bare surface. The bandage is kept wet with the warm 
sweet whey, thus facilitating the process of dressing. 
After each cheese is dressed, it should be replaced in the 
dressing mold, care being taken that the bandage remains 
in place and leaves no portion of the surface of the cheese 
uncovered and in direct contact with the mold. The 
cheese is then put under continual pressure of 60 to 120 
pounds and kept for six to twelve hours. 

185. Salting and curing Edam. — There are two 
methods which may be employed in salting, — dry and 
wet. In dry-salting, when the cheese is finally taken from 
the press, it is removed from the press mold, its bandage 
is removed completely, and the cheese placed in another 
mold, quite similar, known as the salting mold. Each 
cheese is placed in a salting mold with a coating of fine 
salt completely surrounding it. The cheese is salted in 
this way once each day for five or six days. Each day 
the cheese should be turned when it is replaced in the 
mold, so that it will not be rounded on one end more 
than the other. 

In the method of wet-salting, the cheese is placed in a 



178 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

tank of salt brine, made by dissolving common salt in 
water in the proportion of about 1 pound of salt to 22 
quarts of water. Each cheese is turned once a day and 
should be left in the brine seven or eight days. When 
the cheese is taken from the salting mold or salt bath, it 
is placed in warm water and given a vigorous, thorough 
brushing in order to remove all slimy or greasy substances 
that may have accumulated on the outer surface. When 
the surface is well cleansed, the cheese is carefully wiped 
dry with a linen towel and placed upon a shelf in the cur- 
ing-room. In being put on the shelves, the cheeses should 
be placed in contact so as to support one another, until 
they have flattened out at both ends so much that they 
can stand upright alone. Then they are moved far 
enough apart to allow a little air space between them. 
Another method of securing the flattened ends is to sup- 
port each cheese on opposite sides by wedge-shaped pieces 
of wood. After being placed on the sheh-es in the curing- 
room, they are turned once a day and rubbed with the 
bare hand during the first month, twice a week during the 
second month and once a week after that. When any 
slimy substance appears on the surface of the cheese, it 
should be washed off at once with warm water or sweet 
w^hey. The special conditions of the curing-room will 
be noticed in detail below. W'hen the cheeses are about 
two months old, they can be prepared for market in the 
following manner : They are first made smooth on the 
surface by being turned in a lathe or in some other manner, 
after which the surface is colored. For coloring, some 
carmine is dissolved in alcohol or ammonia to secure the 
proper shade, and in this color-bath the cheeses are placed 
for about one minute, when the}' are removed and allowed 
to drain, and as soon as they are dry the outside of each 



THE HARD CHEESES 179 

cheese is rubbed with boiled hnseed oil, in order to pre- 
vent checking. They are then wrapped in tin-foil, which 
is done very much like the bandaging. Care must be 
taken to put on the tin-foil so that it presents a smooth, 
neat appearance. The cheeses are finally packed in boxes, 
containing twelve cheeses in each box, arranged in two 
layers of six each with a separate partition for each 
cheese. 

186. Equipment for making Edam cheese. — Careful 
attention must be given to the moisture and temperature 
of the curing-room. This room should be well venti- 
lated,, quite moist and its temperature kept between 50° 
and 65° F. These are conditions not easy to secure in 
any ordinary room. Some form of cellar is best adapted 
for these conditions. The amount of moisture can be 
determined by an instrument known as a hygrometer. 
In a curing-room suited for Edam cheese, the moisture 
should be between 85 and 95 per cent, or a little short of 
saturation. When the temperature is between 50° and 
65° F., the moisture is between 85 and 95 per cent if 
the wet-bulb thermometer is from 1 to 2° F. (or ^ 
to 1° C.) below the dry-bulb thermometer. Cheese will 
check or crack and be spoiled for market, if the degree 
of moisture is not kept high enough. 

Aside from the molds, press and salting vat, the same 
apparatus that is used in making Cheddar can be used for 
Edam cheese. The pressing mold is turned preferably 
from white wood or, in any case, from wood that will 
not taint. Each mold consists of two parts ; the lower 
constitutes the main part of the mold, the upper portion 
is simply a cover. The lower portion or body of the mold 
has several holes in the bottom, from which the whey 
flows when the cheese is pressed. Care must be taken 



180 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

to prevent these holes being stopped up by curd. This 
part of the mold is about six inches deep and six inches 
in diameter across the top. The salting mold has no cover 
and the bottom is provided with onl}^ one hole for the 
out-flow of whey ; in other respects it is much like the 
pressing mold. 

187. Qualities and yield of Edam cheese. — The 
flavor of a perfect Edam cheese is difficult to describe. 
It is mild, clean, and pleasantly saline. In imperfect 
Edams, the flavor is more or less sour and offensive. In 
body, a perfect Edam cheese is solid, rather dry and 
mealy or crumbly. In texture, it should be close and free 
from pores. In the experiments here reported the amount 
of fat in 100 pounds of the partially skimmed-milk varied 
from 2.45 to 3.20 pounds and averaged 2.77 pounds. Of 
this amount, from 0.30 to 0.51 pound of fat was lost 
in the whey, with an average of 0.39 pound. The yield 
of cheese from 100 pounds of milk varied from 9.60 to 
11.82 pounds and averaged 10.56 pounds. 

188. Gouda cheese. ^ — This Dutch variety is a sweet- 
curd cheese made from whole milk. In shape, the Gouda 
cheese is somewhat like a Cheddar with the sharp edges 
rounded off and sloping toward the outer circumference 
at the middle from the end faces. They usually weigh 
10 or 12 pounds, though they vary in weight from 8 to 
16 pounds. They are largely manufactured in southern 

^ Paragraphs taken from N. Y. Exp. Sta. Bui. 56, Experi- 
ments in the manufacture of cheese ; Part II. The manufacture 
of Gouda cheese, 1893. See also, Hayward, H., Method of 
making Gouda cheese. Pa. Exp. Sta. Rept. 1890, pages 79-81, 
and Haecker, T. L., Experiments in the manufacture of cheese, 
Minn. Exp. Sta. Bui. 35, 1894, and Monrad, J. H., in N. Y. 
Produce Rev. 25 (1907), no. 8, page 330, where a home process 
of making this cheese is given. 



THE HARD CHEESES 181 

Holland, and derive their name from the town in which 
they were first made. Fresh sw^eet milk that has been 
produced and cared for in the best possible manner should 
be used. 

189. Method of manufacture. — The processes of 
manufacturing Gouda cheese are as follows : 

Treatment of milk before adding rennet. — The tempera- 
ture of the milk should be brought up to a point not below 
88° F. nor much above 90° F. When the desired tempera- 
ture has been reached and has become constant, the color- 
ing matter is added. One ounce of cheese color for about 
1200 pounds of milk may be used. The coloring matter 
should be thoroughly incorporated by stirring before 
the rennet is added. 

Addition of rennet to milk. — The rennet should not 
be added until the milk has reached the desired tempera- 
ture (88 to 90° F.) and this temperature has become con- 
stant. The milk should be completely coagulated, ready 
for cutting, in fifteen or twenty minutes. The same 
precautions should be used in adding rennet as those 
previously mentioned in connection with the manufac- 
ture of Edam cheese. 

Cutting the curd. — The curd should be cut when it is 
of about the hardness generally observed for cutting in 
the Cheddar process. The cutting is done as in the Ched- 
dar process except that the curd is cut a little finer in the 
Gouda cheese. Curd should be about the size of peas 
or wheat kernels when ready for press and as uniform in 
size as possible. 

Treatment of curd after cntting. — After the cutting is 
completed, heating and stirring is begun at once. The 
heating and constant stirring is continued until the curd 
reaches a temperature of 104° F., which should require 



182 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

from thirty to forty minutes. When the curd becomes 
rubber-Hke in feehng, the whey should be run off. The 
whey should be entirely sweet when it is removed. 

Pressing and dressing Goudo. — After the whey is off, 
the curd is put in molds at once without salting 
(Fig. 28). Pains should be taken in this process to keep 
the temperature of the curd as near 100° F. as possible. 
Each cheese is placed under continuous pressure amount- 
ing to ten or twenty times its own weight and kept for 
about half an hour. The first bandage is put on in very 
much the same manner as in Edam cheese making. The 
cheese is then put in press again for about one hour. 
The first bandage is then taken off and 
a second one like the first put on with 
great care, taking pains to make the 
bandage smooth, capping the ends as 
before. The cheese is then put in press 
again and left twelve hours or more. 
Salting and curing. • — When Gouda 

Fig. 28. — Gouda cheese is taken from the press, the band- 
cheese mold. . , 1 • • 1 1 p 
age IS removed and it is placed tor 

twenty-four hours in a curing-room like that used for 
Edam cheese, as previously described. Each cheese is 
then rubbed all over with dry salt until the salt begins to 
dissolve, and this same treatment is continued twice a 
day for ten days. At the end of that time, each cheese 
is carefully and thoroughly washed in warm water and 
dried with a clean linen towel. The cheeses are then 
placed on the shelves of the curing-room, turned once a day 
and rubbed. The temperature and moisture are con- 
trolled as described in the curing process of Edam 
cheese. If the outer surfaces of the cheese become slimy 
at any time, they are carefully washed in warm water 




THE HARD CHEESES 183 

and dried with clean towels. Under these conditions, 
cheese ripens in two or three months. 

190. Equipment for Gouda Cheese. — The molds, press 
and curing-room are the only equipment' needed in the 
making of Gouda cheese that differ from that employed 
in making Cheddar cheese. The mold used for Gouda 
cheese consists of two portions, which are shown sepa- 
rately in Fig. 28. These molds are made of heavy pressed 
tin. The inside diameter at the middle is about 10 inches, 
that of the ends about 6^ inches. The height of the mold 
is about 5^ inches, and this represents the thickness of 
the cheese, but by pushing the upper down into the 
lower portion, the thickness can be decreased as desired. 

191. Composition and yield of Gouda. — In work with 
milk averaging 4.2 per cent of fat there were lost in the 
whey from 0.29 to 0.43 per cent with an average of 0.35 per 
cent of fat. The loss of fat appears to be not much 
greater than the average loss met with in cheese factories 
in making Cheddar cheese. From 100 pounds of milk, 
there were made from 11.60 to 13.35 pounds of green 
cheese, with an average of 12.50 pounds. The per- 
centage of water in the experimental cheese varied 
from 41.25 to 45.43 per cent and averaged 43.50 per 
cent. 



CHAPTER XII 
CHEDDAR CHEESE-MAKING 

Cheddar is the best known cheese tliroughout the 
United States and the one most commonly made in 
factories. The Cheddar process was brought to America 
by EngHsh immigrants. Similar to Cheddar cheese are 
Pineapple, English Dairy, Sage cheese, skimmed-milk 
and California Jack cheese made in this country, and 
Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Wensleydale and Cheshire made 
in England. The Cheddar cheese process as employed 
in the factories to-day has been modified and improved 
since it was first introduced into this country by the 
early immigrants. The following description^ includes 
only the practices as found in the factories to-day if 
whole milk is used. Skimmed-milk Cheddar cheese 
is discussed later. 

192. The lot-card. — The Cheddar process involves 
several hours of manipulation and includes many details 
which should be closely and accurately observed and 
recorded. The necessity of carrying observations of 
several different factors at the same time makes a scheme 
of recording data essential to convenient work. For 
this purpose, a lot-card for Cheddar cheese is introduced 
here and the pages given to particular factors are in- 
dicated in the space intended for the recording of observa- 

^ The authors acknowledge here the helpful suggestions and 
criticisms of G. C. Button, New York State Cheese Instructor. 

184 



CHEDDAR CHEESE-MAKING 



185 




186 THE, BOOK OF CHEESE 

tions. The manufacture of Cheddar cheese is a compli- 
cated process, because several factors must be given 
attention at the same time. A careful record of the 
observations of each step in the successive handling of 
each lot of milk puts the operator in possession of a per- 
manent record of his experience. This record has several 
uses. It may help to convince patrons of the importance 
of eliminating faults in the milk ; it furnishes the cheese- 
maker a cumulative record of his experiences in handling 
milk with special qualities, such as high or low fat-content, 
over-acidity or taints. Since Cheddar ripening covers a 
period of weeks and months, no operator can remember 
particular lots of milk sufficiently well to be able to 
use his experience on the interpretation of the qualities 
foinid in the ripened product. 

193. The milk. — It is the usual practice to deliver the 
milk to the cheese factory each morning (Fig. 29). The 
night's milk is cooled and kept clean and cold until de- 
livered at the factory. It is advisable not to mix the cold 
night's milk and the warm morning's milk, but to deliver 
them in separate cans to the cheese factory at the same time. 
The milk is weighed, sample for fat test taken and then 
run into the vat (Fig. 30). The receiving or taking in 
of the milk is one of the most important parts of the 
cheese factory work. It is practically as important as 
the actual manufacturing of the cheese. 

Any milk high in acid or with a bad flavor should be 
avoided. It is often bad policy to reject the milk, for 
a neighboring factory will accept it and the factory not 
only loses the milk but also the patron. Factories should 
have an agreement to prevent this. The acidity can be 
determined by the acid test, but the detection of flavors 
must be made by the cheese-maker himself with the aid 



CHEDDAR CHEESE-MAKING 



187 



21 CHEESE. This card must remain with lot from the millt room until 

the finished product is ready to leave the building, then it should be handed to 
instructor. 



MAKING Day and Date 








Vat 


Milk 
Used 




Milk 






Odor 






Taste 


Total pounds 




Weather conditions 






% fat 


lbs 

lbs. 


-lbs. fat 
8. n. f. 
casein. 


Starter 




Kind used _ 


% casein 


Acidity 

Amount used % used 



Time of 

adding starter.... \ 

adding rennet .... \ 

coagulation 

cutting 

turn'g on steam, 
turn'g oflF steam 

dipping 

packing 

milling 

salting 

hooping 

• pressing 

dressing 



Minutes 



Total time from 1 
setting to pressing J 



% Acid 
In Milk 
when received 


Temperature 

of milk when received 
when starter added.... 
when rennet added .... 
when whey removed... 
at pressing 


before adding starter 


after adding starter 


when rennet added 


Rennet Test 


In Whey 
after curd is cut 


when milk received.... 
after adding starter.... 


at dipping 


Hot Iron Test 

at dipping. _ 


at packing . . 




at packing 


at salting 


at milling.. 

at salting 



Condition of Curd 



when cut 

when packed .. 
when milled ... 
when salted .... 
when pressed. 



Amount per 

1000 lbs. milk.. 
Total Amount 



Color 



Rennet 



Salt 



% fat in 
..whey 



Assisted by 



lbs. fat esti- 

mated so lost. 

% of total milk 
..fat lost in whey 



If comments are added on 

reverse side, put cross here 

Work and 

Observations by 



YIELD Day and Date 

Weight of cheese when removed from press to curing room, 

lbs. milk for Kind of cheese made 
one lb. cheese. 

lbs. cheese for one No. of cheese made. 

lb. fat in milk. 

If comments are added on reverse side put cross here..._ 

Work and observations by — 



Time 

Serial 

lbs. No 

lbs. cheese per 

100 lbs. milk 

lbs. cheese for one 
lb. total solid 



Arranged by W. W. Hall. 



188 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 




CHEDDAR CHEESE-MAKING 189 

of smell and taste. Many of the bad flavors in the cheese 
can be traced to the poor quality of the milk. One of 
the worst qualities in milk and cheese is the presence of 
gas-producing organisms.^ Any milk which shows gassy 
fermentation should be rejected, for it is difficult to make 
cheese from this and at best there will be a large loss 
during the manufacturing process. The cheese may have 
a bad flavor and develop " pin-holes " and in extreme 
cases may puft' up like a ball. The person receiving the 
milk shovild talk to the farmers or dairy-men about the 
proper care of the utensils and milk. He must see that 
the cans are kept clean. One very bad practice is to 
deliver milk and take home whey in the same cans. The 
cans, as they are brought back from the cheese factory 
full of whey, are often left in the barn or near a hog-pen 
until the whey is fed. Unless such cans are emptied 
immediately on returning to the farm and then rinsed 
out with cold water, thoroughly washed and scalded, bad 
flavors may develop in the cheese. It is thought that 
this causes " fruity " or sweet flavor, which resembles that 
of fruits such as raspberries, strawberries or pineapples. 

194. Ripening the milk. — A slight development of 
acidity is required : («) to obtain the formation of a firm 
curd ; and (b) to establish immediate dominance of a 
desirable type of lactic organism which will produce the 
large amount of acid required later in the cheddaring 
process. The development of this acidification before 
the addition of rennet is known as the ripening of the 
milk. The extent of ripening advised by different 

^ Russell, H. L., Cheese as affected by gas-producing bacteria. 
Wis. Exp. Sta. Rept. 1895, pages 139-146. 

Marshall, C. E., Gassy curd and cheese, Mich. Exp. Sta. 
Bui. 183, 1900. 



190 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



schools of makers has varied from an acidity of 0.20 of 
1 per cent or even slightly higher percentage titrated 
as lactic acid, to about 0.17 of 1 per cent as now preferred 
by some of the most successful groups of workers. The 
ripeness of the milk can also be determined by the use of 
the rennet test. 

The milk may be ripened by allowing the lactic organisms 
already present in the milk to develop naturally. This 
requires considerable time and while the lactic acid-forming 
bacteria are developing, other and undesirable fermenta- 
tions may be taking place, so that the good results which 
should follow the uninterrupted development of the lactic 
acid-forming organisms are lost. Starter is commonly used 
to produce the desired ripening of the milk. (For the! 
preparation of starter see Chapter IV.) 

Some makers put the starter into the empty vat (Fig. 
31) and add the milk as it is received ; others add it to 




Fig. 31. — Steel cheese vat. 

the total volume of cold milk and then begin to heat it. 
Whenever the starter is used, it should be strained to 
remove lumps. These lumps might cause a mottled 
color in the cheese. The best practice calls for an acidity 
or a rennet test of the mixed milk after it has been 
brought to the setting temperature in the vat. With 
milk tested at this stage and the volume of milk in the 



CHEDDAR CHEESE-MAKING 191 

vat known, the cheese-maker is able to calculate 
closely the amount of starter needed. When the 
quantity of starter to use is in doubt, the amount added 
should be under rather than over the estimate, since the 
need of more can be determined by making frequent ren- 
net and acid tests in a very few minutes without damage 
to the cheese. If too much starter has been used, acid 
or sour cheese is usually obtained, with loss in market 
quality. 

An over-development of acidity at any stage of the man- 
ufacturing process affects the flavor, body and texture, 
color and finish of the cheese. The product is known as 
a sour cheese, and can usually be identified by its sour 
taste and smell. A sour cheese while curing will seldom 
develop a normal Cheddar flavor and the texture will 
be hard and harsh and very brittle. The body will not 
be smooth but harsh and grainy. The over-development 
of acid will show by fading or bleaching the color. A 
sour cheese usually leaks whey for a few days after being 
placed on the curing-room shelves. 

Ripening the milk is one of the most important parts 
of cheese-making. Proper ripening places the acid fer- 
mentations under the control of the cheese-maker so 
that he may know what results will follow his labors. 
The operator can control the acidity while ripening the 
milk, but after the rennet is added all control of the acidity 
is lost. From that time, the moisture must be regulated 
in proportion to the acidity. 

Before setting, the milk should be ripened to such a 
point as to leave at least two and one-half hours from the 
time that the rennet extract is added until the acid de- 
velopment has reached the stage at which it is necessary 
to remove the whey. By the acid test the milk may vary 



192 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

from 0.16 to 0.18 of 1 per cent, but no definite statement 
can be given for the rennet test. This can be determined 
only by comparison from day to day. For opera- 
tion of rennet test see Chapter V. Dm'ing this period 
of two and one-half hours, the curd is formed, then cut, 
and the temperature is raised from 84° or 86° F. (the 
temperature at which the rennet extract is added) to about 
98° to 100° F. The curd must be kept agitated so that 
the particles will not mat together; this is necessary to 
obtain sufficient contraction of the particles of curd with 
the proper reduction of water-content. If the milk 
becomes too ripe (too sour) before the rennet is added, 
there will not be sufficient time for these steps to take 
place naturally. In such cases special means are re- 
quired to firm the curd. These result in a loss of both 
quality and quantity of cheese. On the other hand, if 
the milk is not ripened, but the rennet extract added, 
regardless of the acid development, one of the important 
natural forces for expelling the moisture is lost. The 
time required for the particles of curd to contract is much 
prolonged, the expulsion of whey is usually inadequate and 
the curd remains in a soft or wet condition. Using too 
much starter is almost equally bad, for although it hastens 
the making process, it produces a soiu" or acid cheese. 

195. Setting or coagulating, — The milk for Cheddar 
cheese-making is heated to 86° to 88° F. or occasionally 
a slightly lower temperature. This temperature is found 
by experiment to give the texture of curd most favorable 
for the desired results. Although some cheese-makers 
work as low as 84° F., the texture of such curd is too soft 
and coagulates too slowly. The very slight change of 
2 F. produces curd which coagulates more quickly and 
is tougher and firmer. 



CHEDDAR CHEESE-MAKING 193 

If the cheeses are to be colored, the color should be 
added after all the starter. It should be thoroughly 
and evenly mixed with the milk to insure an even color 
in the cheese. If the color is added before the starter, 
there are likely to be white specks in the cheese, on account 
of the coagulated casein in the starter. The amount of 
color to use depends on the tint desired in the cheese. 
It varies from i to | ounce to 1000 pounds of milk for a 
light straw color to 1| to 2 ounces for 1000 pounds of 
milk for a deep red color. 

Enough rennet should be used to produce a curd firm 
enough to cut in twenty-five to thirty-five minutes. 
The necessary amount will vary with the strength of the 
rennet extract itself, with the acidity, the temperature, 
the nature of the lot of milk, and with the individual 
aims of the maker in which he adjusts the other factors 
to his preferences as to rapidity of rennet action. With 
the usual commercial extract, the'needed amount ranges 
from 2.5 to 4 ounces for 1000 pounds of milk. As for all 
varieties of cheese, the rennet extract should be diluted 
in cold water at about one part rennet to forty parts 
water and thoroughly stirred into the milk. (See 
Chapter V.) 

196. Cutting. — The object of cutting is to obtain 
an even expulsion of the moisture from the curd. The 
curd is cut as soon as it becomes firm enough. To 
determine this, various tests may be used. Some opera- 
tol-s test it by pressing it away from the side of the vat, 
considering it ready to cut when it separates cleanly from 
the metal. The test most commonly used is to insert 
the index finger obliquely into the curd, then to start 
to split the curd with the thumb and finally to raise the 
finger gently ; if ready to cut, the curd will split cleanly 



194 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

over the finger and clear whey will separate to fill the 
opened crack. Another arbitrary but more or less satis- 
factory rule is that the time from adding the rennet until 
cutting should be two and one-half times that from the 
addition of rennet until the first sign of coagulation is 
observed. 

The condition of the curd itself is the best guide 
to show when it is ready to cut. The condition of 
the curd is constantly changing, so that in a large vat, 
if the cutting is not begun until the curd is in the best 
condition, by the time the last of the curd is cut it will be 
too hard or firm. It is better to begin while the curd 
is a trifle too soft so that the cutting will be taking place 
while the curd is at the proper stage. At best the last 
of the curd may become too hard. If too hard, it will 
break ahead of the knife instead of cut. Breaking 
causes more fat loss than cutting because there is more 
surface exposed and hence more fat globules. The 
softer the curd when cut, the quicker and easier the 
moisture can be expelled. 

If the curd is cut when soft, care must be exercised not 
to stir it too hard immediately after cutting. Soft curd 
breaks very easily. When the curd is cut soft and then 
stirred vigorously, there is a larger loss of fat than 
when the curd becomes hard before it is cut. 

Two knives are used to cut the curd. (See Fig. 11.) 
These knives may have either wire or blades for cutting. 
The space between the wires or blades varies from te^o \ 
inch. Knives used should have blades or wires close 
enough together to cut the pieces as small as desired, 
without a second cutting. When the curd has to be cut a 
second time it usually results in pieces of uneven sizes, be- 
cause the pieces already cut cannot be evenly split in two. 



CHEDDAR CHEESE-MAKING 



195 



One set of knives has horizontal and the other per- 
pendicular blades or wires. The curd is cut the long way 
of the vat with the horizontal knife and lengthwise and 
crosswise with the perpendicular knife so that the result 
is small cubes or oblongs of curd. Some cheese-makers 
prefer to use one knife first and some the other, but the 
result should be a curd cut into pieces of uniform size. 
The smaller the particles of curd or cubes are cut, the 
quicker the curd will firm up or cook. If not cut uniformly, 
the changes taking place later in the curd particles will 
not be uniform, — the small pieces will be hard and dry 
while the large ones will be soft and- mushy. 

Care should be taken to let the knife cut its way into 
the curd (Fig. 32). If the knife is pushed into the curd. 




Fig. 32. — The proper way to put the knife into the curd. 

it will break it and cause a large loss of fat. The same 
is true when taking the knives out of the curd. The loss 
of fat due to cutting is very similar to the loss of sawdust 
when sawing a board. It may be considered a necessary 
evil. The loss due to cutting is about 0.3 of 1 per cent 
of fat in the whey and the loss of casein about 0.1 of 1 
per cent in the whey. 

197. Heating or " cooking " the curd. — After the 
curd is cut, the pieces (cubes) rapidly settle to the bottom 



196 



TUE BOOK OF CHEESE 




Fig. 33. — Acme curd nikc. 



of the vat and tend to mat together. To prevent this, 
the curd must be kept stirred. When stirring first begins, 
the curd is soft and very readily broken. Some cheese- 
makers prefer to stir by hand for the first few minutes 

after cutting, while 
the curd is soft. 
The importance of 
careful handling 
can hardly be over- 
emphasized. No 
matter how well 
the curd has been 
cut, if the stirring 
is performed in a 
careless manner in the early stages, it will be broken into 
uneven sized pieces and a considerable loss of fat will 
result. A wooden hayrake or a INIcPherson curd agitator 
(Figs. 33, 34) may be used to stir the curd. Me- 
chanical curd agitators are used in some cheese factories. 
There are several makes. 
(See Fig. 35.) These 
agitators save much 
hand labor, although 
some stirring by hand 
must be done in connec- 
tion with them. The 
mechanical agitators do 
not stir the curd in the 
corners of the vat ; this must be done with the hand rake. 
It is the usual practice to stir the curd immediately after 
cutting for five to ten minutes before the mechanical 
agitators are used. This is necessary to give the curd a 
slight chance to firm as the mechanical agitators tend to 




Fig. 34. — McPherson curd agitator. 



CHEDDAR CHEESE-MAKING 



197 




198 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

break it up. After cutting, a thin film forms on each 
piece of curd. This fihn holds the curd particles, especially 
the fat. Breaking the films on the cubes causes loss of 
fat. If lumps form at the early stage, by matting of the 
curd particles, violent stirring is required to separate 
them. When such lumps are broken up, new cleavage 
lines are formed with loss of fat, because the original 
films surrounding the soft curd fuse so firmly that the 
curd cubes do not separate but actually break. New 
surfaces are thus formed with consequent fat loss. Rapid 
shrinkage with expulsion of whey takes place during the 
first few minutes of gentle agitation. Before any heat is 
applied to the vat, sufficient whey should have separated 
or formed to float each piece of curd separately. This 
will require ten to fifteen minutes from the time of cutting. 
Thus far the first of three distinct factors which expel 
the moisture from the curd has been considered : (1) the 
action of the rennet ; (2) the development of the lactic 
acid; and (3) the application of heat. These forces 
must have time to act naturally. If heat is applied too 
soon after the curd is cut or if the temperature is raised 
too rapidly, it causes a thick film to form on the pieces 
of curd which interferes with the escape of the whey. 
The outside of the curd becomes firm but the inside re- 
mains very soft. A curd which is cooked on the outside 
only feels firm when stirred by hand in the whey, but 
when a handful is squeezed the soft centers are noticed. 
To firm such curd masses requires violent stirring, which 
will break the thick tough film. This allows the mois- 
ture to escape and also increases the fat loss. The 
rapidity of heating should depend on the condition of 
the curd and the amount, of acid developed. The heat 
should keep pace with these. When ready to raise the 



CHEDDAR CHEESE-MAKING 199 

temperature, the least amount of steam possible should 
be allowed to pass through the valve. This should 
raise the temperature very gradually. If heat is applied 
too quickly at first, it will cause the curd to lump. A 
safe rule is to raise the temperature one degree in the 
first five minutes after the steam has been turned on. 
The heating should progress slowly until the whole mass of 
curd in the vat has reached a temperature of 90° to 92° F. 
The usual temperature to which the curd is heated or 
cooked is 98° F. to 100° F. The lower the temperature 
that can be used and properly firm the curd, the better 
will be the body of the cheese. If the curd is heated too 
high, it will become hard, which causes a dry hard 
"corky" cheese. After this temperature has been reached, 
there is not such a tendency for the curd particles to 
stick together nor are they so easily broken in stirring. 
It should require, under normal conditions, not less than 
thirty to forty-five minutes, from the time the steam is 
turned on, to raise temperature of the curd from the 
setting temperature to that necessary to " firm " the 
curd. If a shorter time is allowed to raise the temperature, 
the curd will not have opportunity to contract naturally. 
The temperature required to expel the moisture properly 
varies with the percentage of fat in the milk. If rich 
in fat (4.5 to 5.5 per cent) milk requires a temperature of 
98° to 104° F. to firm the curd, while the same result can 
be accomplished with milk testing 3.0 to 3.5 per cent fat 
at a temperature of 94° to 96° F. A higher temperature 
is needed in winter than in summer because the milk is 
usually richer in fat. In a water- jacketed vat, allowance 
must always be made for the rise in temperature due 
to the water surrounding it. The water may be removed 
if there is danger of the temperature going too high. 



200 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

However, it is better to gauge the heat so that the water 
may be left, as this helps to hold the curd at an even 
temperature, especially in cold weather. In a steam- 
heated ^•at there is not so much danger of the tempera- 
ture running up. 

The stirring must be kept up after the steam has been 
turned off until the curd has reached such a stage of 
contraction that it will not readily pack or mat in the 
bottom of the vat. After the curd reaches this stage it 
may be allowed to settle to the bottom and stirred only 
occasionally until it is time to remove the whey. If the 
cheese room is not warm and there is danger of the curd 
cooling, a cover should be placed on the vat. The curd 
should not be allowed to settle for more than fifteen 
minutes without stirring to keep each piece separate. 
This is necessary to obtain uniform contraction of all 
curd masses. 

198. Removing the whey. — To permit the normal 
changes in the curd to take place naturally, two and one- 
half hours from the time the rennet extract is added is 
ordinarily required before the whey is drawn. The time 
of removing the whey is determined by two factors : one, 
the acid de\elopment, and the other, the firmness of the 
curd. For the best results, it is better to have the firmness 
of the curd a trifle ahead of the acid development. When 
the proper acid development has been reached, the whey 
must be removed, regardless of the firmness of the curd. 
If the curd has not become firm enough by natural forces, 
when the acid development has reached the proper stage 
to remove the whey, it must be firmed by other means. 
If it is not firm enough, either by natural or artificial 
means, when the whey is removed, a sour cheese is 
the result. The acid development should not be al- 



CHEDDAR CHEESE-MAKING 201 

lowed to go beyond 0.16 to 0.19 of 1 per cent acidity in 
the whey by the acid test or iV to | of an inch of acid 
on the hot-iron test, before the whey is removed. 

199. Hot-iron test.^ — This test is employed to determine 
the amount of acid in the curd. A piece of iron, such as 
an iron pipe two feet long, is heated in the fire to proper 
temperature. If the iron is too hot it will burn the 
curd, and if not hot enough the curd will not stick to 
the iron. When hot, it is taken from the fire and wiped 
clean with a cloth. A handful of curd is taken from the 
vat and squeezed dry, either in the hand or in a cloth. 
This curd is carefully pressed against the hot iron and 
drawn away. If the iron is at the right temperature and 
the curd has sufficient acid development, the curd will stick 
to the iron and when pulled away will form fine threads. 
The length of these threads determines the amount of 
acid in the curd. The acid is usually spoken of in 
terms of the length of threads, as i inch of acid, ^ 
inch of acid and the like. The curd must have a 
slight development of acid before it will stick to the 
iron. This test takes advantage of the peculiar 
properties ^ of curd which are produced by the action 
of the acid on the casein. 

200. Firmness of the clird. — The cheese-maker must 
be able to judge the firmness of the curd by physical 
examination. The particles of curd should have shrunken 
to about one-half their original size and should be of 
uniform consistency throughout; they should not have 

1 S. M. Babcock, Hot iron test of cheese curd, Wis. Exp. 
Sta. Kept. 1895, pages 1.33-1.34. 

2 Van Slyke, L. L., and E. B. Hart, A study of some of the 
salts formed by casein and paracasein with acids, their relation 
to American Cheddar cheese, N. Y. (Geneva) Exp. Sta. Bui. 
214, 1902. 



202 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



any soft centers. The curd should be firm and springy. 
When a double handful is pressed and suddenly released, 
the curd particles should spring apart. The curd should 
have a " shotty " feeling when in the whey. If the curd 
has attained the proper firmness, and the acid has not 
reached the correct stage to remove the whey, it may 
be left in the whey until sufficient acid development 
has been attained. This is liable to cause the curd to 
become too firm and to result in a hard dry cheese. If 

there . is no evidence of 
the presence of undesir- 
able organisms, such as 
bad odors, or gas holes 
in the curd, it is better 
to remove the whey and 
develop the acid when 
the curd is in the " pack." 
The pack refers to the 
first piling of the curd. 

The whey may be re- 
moved either by means 
of a faucet or gate in the 
vat or by a siphon (Fig. 
36). With either form 
of removal a whey-strainer (Fig. 37) should be used to 
prevent loss of curd particles. It requires considerable 
time for the whey to escape from a large vat. After the 
curd has been heated to the proper temperature, it is 
well to remove a portion of the whey. In doing this the 
surface of the w^hey should not be drawn down quite to 
the top of the curd. When ready, the remaining whey 
can be quickly removed. 

If it is decided that the curd is not firm enough, when 




Fig. 36. 



-Whey siphon with 
strainer. 



CHEDDAR CHEESE-MAKING 



203 



the whey is drawn down to the surface of the" curd and 
the acid has developed sufficiently, the curd should be 
fi.rmed up in the whey by stirring it vigorously by hand 
before the remainder of the whey is removed. This is 
commonly called "hand stirring." This difficulty results 
either from the use of too much 
starter or from holding the milk 
until too much acid develop- 
ment has taken place before 
adding the rennet. Hand stir- 
ring accomplishes what natural 
forces would accomplish if 
given sufficient time. If the 
curd does not firm naturally 
in the whey, there is a large 
loss of fat and other solids, be- 
cause the pieces of curd will 
have to be broken up to allow 
the water to escape from the 
soft centers of these masses. 
This loss can usually be re- 
duced by firming the curd in 
the whey or adding water 
rather than by stirring without 
either water or whey. If the 
curd is not properly firmed, it 
carries extra whey into the 
cheese. With the increase in whey, the amount of milk- 
sugar carried into the cheese increases. This extra milk- 
sugar attacked by bacteria produces an excess of lactic acid, 
which results in " sour " cheeses. This explains why the 
curd is placed beyond the danger of over-development 
of acid by removing so large a portion of the whey. 




Fig. 37. — Whey strainer with 
spout to fit into the gate in 
the vat. 



204 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

If the curd is properly firmed in the whey and the whey 
is removed before too much acid has developed, it is im- 
possible to make a sour cheese. 

201. Gathering the curd together. — Before the last 
of the whey has been remo^'ed, the curd should be pushed 
back from the faucet into the upper two-thirds of the 
vat and spread in an even layer. This layer should be 
six to eight inches thick. The curd can be pushed back 
with the rake or a board which will fit crosswise in the 
vat, in which are many holes. As soon as the whey has 
been removed so that there is not enough to wash the 
curd into the lower part of the \'at, the vat should be 
tilted and a ditch eight to ten inches wide cut in the curd 
through the center. The ciu'd from the ditch should 
be removed to either side and spread evenly. As soon 
as all the whey has been removed, the pieces of curd scat- 
tered about in the vat should be gathered up and placed 
with the remainder. 

In some factories, instead of matting the curd in the 
vat, a curd sink is used. This is a wooden receptacle 
about the size of the vat but not so deep, with a slatted 
false bottom. It is fitted with castors so that it can be 
easily moved about. A cloth is placed in the sink 
and the curd and whey are dipped upon the cloth. The 
whey escapes very rapidly through the cloth. The curd 
sink is an advantage in those cases in which it is de- 
sirable to remove the whey from the curd quickly, such 
as high acid curds which have to be hand stirred to firm 
the curd. The disadvantage lies in the work required 
to keep the sink and the large cloth clean. 

202. Matting or cheddaring is the distinctive feature 
of the Cheddar process. It is the piling and matting 
of the curd. Whether the curd is matted in the vat 



CHEDDAR CHEESE-MAKING 205 

or in the curd sink, the process is practically the same. 
The object of cheddaring is three-fold : (1) to control the 
incorporation of moisture ; (2) to control undesirable 
ferments, if present in the curd; (3) to develop the 
texture desired in the cheeses. 

After the curd in the vat has become matted so that 
the particles stick together, the masses on either side of 
the central channel are cut crosswise into strips with a 
cheese knife (Fig. 38). The width of the strip depends 
on the water-content of the curd at this stage. The 
more water, the smaller should be the pieces of curd. 
This allows the whey to drain away much more rapidly. 
As soon as the strips of curd are cut, they should be turned 
over or stood on edge. A drain should be left along the 
middle line of the 
vat and on each 
side. This permits 

, , Fid. 3<S. — A cheese knife. 

the whey to run 

away freely. If, on the other hand, the outlet is dammed 
up, the curd may become " whey-soaked." This pro- 
duces a soft mushy cheese which sometimes is "acidy" 
or sour. After the curd is turned each time, all crumbs 
of curd broken off should be brushed underneath the 
masses of curd so that they will mat with it. They 
should never be placed on top of the curd because 
they will not unite but will become dry and hard. If 
the crumbs are not kept brushed up, they become dry 
and will cause an open textured granular cheese and 
possibly lumps in the cheese. After the pieces of curd 
have been turned several times, and the whey has fairly 
completely drained away, they may be piled first two 
deep, then three deep and so on, the depth of the piling 
being gauged by the softness or amount of water in the 



206 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

curd and the temperature. The higher the curd is piled, 
the more water it will retain (assimilate), so that the 
amount of moisture in the curd is regulated by the size 
of the pieces into which it is cut and the rapidity and 
depth to which it is piled. 

The curd should not be left too long from the time it 
is turned until it is turned again. This period is usually 
about ten to fifteen minutes. The moister the curd, the 
more often it should be turned. In turning, care should 
be taken to keep the ends at the same temperature as 
the remainder. This can be done by piling them inside, 
thereby keeping them warm. There is a tendency for 
the ends of the pieces of curd to remain granular and so 
cause an open-textured cheese. 

During the cheddaring process, the temperature should 
be reduced uniformly and gradually. If there is danger 
of the curd becoming too cold, the vat should be covered 
and a pail of hot water may be placed inside, if it is deemed 
necessary. The temperature of the curd should not be 
allowed to go below 85° to 90° F. If kept too warm, the 
curd will become soft and plastic, and if too cold, it will 
not mat together. 

While the curd is being turned and piled, its physical 
properties are changing. The acid develops. When 
the cheddaring process is completed, the curd should be 
elastic, smooth and fibrous. The curd should have the 
close meaty texture desired in the cheese. If this step 
in the process is neglected, defects may appear later in 
the body, texture and flavor of the cheese. Attempts 
to pile the curd too fast result in a soft, mushy, open-tex- 
tured product. Such cheese has mechanical holes, in 
which moisture collects, and so is likely to cause rot 
while curing. 



CHEDDAR CHEESE-MAKING 207 

If gas is detected either before or during the cheddaring 
process, the curd should be piled until the gas holes are 
no longer round but flat. If the gas holes are not flattened 
or obliterated during this process, the cheeses will be 
very liable to puff on the shelves in the curing-room. 
The curd should be handled until the gas holes flatten 
out evenly, although this may require considerable time. 
At best, gassy curd will never produce the highest grade of 
cheese. 

Cheddaring or piling the curd is not thoroughly under- 
stood by most cheese-makers. Because the moisture 
contains the milk-sugar, there is danger of having so much 
moisture present in the cheese that it will become sour 
from the action of the lactic acid-forming bacteria on the 
milk-sugar. A cheese may be sweet when made and later 
become sour because it contains too much moisture or 
milk-sugar. This is known as "shelf souring." For the 
proper cheddaring of a curd, it is necessary that it be 
properly firmed in the whey. If the moisture is not evenly 
incorporated, the cheese will have a mottled color. The 
pieces that have the more moisture will be lighter 
colored. If the proper amount of moisture is not incor- 
porated, the cheese will be dry and hard, and if too much, 
soft and pasty. 

203. Milling the curd. — The large pieces formed by 
the cheddaring process must be cut into small ones before 
the curd can be easily put into the hoop. This is called 
" milling." Properly milled curd can be salted evenly, 
cools more quickly and uniformly and can be distributed 
evenly in the hoops. 

The proper time to " mill " the curd is determined by 
its physical condition. Some curds will cheddar much 
more rapidly than others, hence no definite length of time 



208 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



can be given. Curd, when ready to mill, should have a 
fibrous texture somewhat like the white meat of a chicken 
breast. The pieces of curd should split very easily. 
When cut, the curd should show a close, solid, smooth 
interior. The amount of lactic acid developed may vary 
within rather wide limits. The hot iron may show 




Fig. 39. — Gosselin curd-mill. 

strings ^ to 1 inch long. The acidity (by titration of the 
freshly separating whey) may be 0.45 to 0.65 of 1 per cent. 
If the curd has been properly made, that is, firmed up in 
the whey with the proper acidity so far, acid develop- 
ment during the cheddaring process will take care of itself. 
The physical condition remains the principal means of 
determining the time when the curd should be milled. 




Fig. 40. — Barnard curd-mill. 

There are many kinds and styles of curd-mills on the 
market. Gosselin, Barnard, Pohl, Junker, Victor, 
Harris are well-known kinds (Figs. 39-42). Some are 
hand, others power mills. Some of these tear the curd 
into pieces of unequal size, others cut it into uniform 
pieces. A mill that will do the work with the least 



CHEDDAR CHEESE-MAKING 



209 



possible pressure on the curd and which will cut it 
into small uniform-sized pieces is most desirable. 




Fig. 41. — Junker curd-mill. 

The ideal mill should release the least fat and leave 
the curd in the best condition to receive the salt. It 
is impossible to run curd through any mill without 




Fig. 42. — Harris curd-mill. 



exposing some fat on the freshly cut surfaces, and if the 
curd is put under pressure, more fat will be pressed out 
and lost. Cutting in the mill, like cutting the curd after 



210 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

coagulation by rennet, may be called a necessary evil. 
There is an unavoidable mechanical loss which may be 
greater or less according to the mill used. If the curd 
has been properly handled so that the water in it has 
become thoroughly assimilated ({)roperly incorporated), 
this loss will be reduced to the minimum. If the curd 
contains free moisture and many of the particles have 
soft interiors, a stream of white whey will run down the 
vat as the curd masses are cut. Some samples of such 
white whey will test as high as 15 per cent fat. This 
not only causes a loss in yield but in quality of cheese, 
according to the amount of fat lost. White whey is an 
indication of loss of fat. If the proper amount of 

moisture is present 
and is so thoroughly 
incorporated in the 
curd that it can be 
separated only by 
Fig. 43. — a curd fork. evaporation, the ideal 

condition has been 
reached. ^Yhile milling, the cut curd should be stirred 
as fast as milled to prevent matting again and to allow 
odors to escape. This stirring is usually performed with 
a curd fork (Fig. 43). At the same time the temperature 
will be lowered. The milled curd should be spread evenly 
over the upper three-quarters of the bottom of the vat. 
The flavor of the curd that has been made from tainted 
milk can be very much improved by stirring at this time 
so that air can enter. 

A gassy curd, which has been held until the holes have 
become flattened, should be stirred very frequently during 
this stage to allow the gas to escape, thereby improving 
the flavor. 




CHEDDAR CHEESE-MAKING 211 

204. Salting. — Salt is added to Cheddar curd for 
several purposes: (1) for its taste; (2) to aid in the 
removal of the whey and to harden and shrink the curd ; 
(3) to influence the fermentation by slowing down acidi- 
fication, checking the growth of unfavorable organisms 
and delaying ripening. The salt should be pure. 
It should be coarse-grained, because the large grains 
dissolve more slowly and permit its absorption to a much 
larger extent than the fine-grained salt. Salt that 
dissolves slowly is, therefore, to be sought for this purpose. 

The following factors must be considered in determin- 
ing the amount of salt to be used : (1) the amount of curd 
from the milk ; (2) the percentage of water in the curd ; 
(3) the acidity of the curd ; (4) the particular market 
form of cheese desired. The custom of determining the 
quantity of salt by the weight of milk is an inaccurate 
practice. The amount of salt should be based on the 
amount of curd. If the amount of fat in the milk is 
known, a fairly accurate estimate of the amount of curd 
can be made. It would be more accurate to weigh the 
curd before salting, but this is not practicable or necessary 
to insure a good quality of cheese. The amount of salt 
varies from 1^ to 2| pounds of salt to the curd from each 
1000 pounds of milk. 

The salt should not be added directly after milling 
because, at that time, it would cause a large loss of fat. 
After milling there should be time before salting for the 
freshly cut surfaces to dry or " heal over." When first 
milled the curd has a dry harsh feeling ; when ready to 
salt it will feel soft and mellow and some moisture can 
usually be squeezed out easily. Fifteen to twenty minutes 
from the time of milling are required before the curd is 
ready for the salt. When ready, the curd should be 



212 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 




Fig. 44. — Wilson pies.s hoop. . I, com- 
plete hoop ; B, bottom cover with 
wide flange ; C, top cover with narrow 
flange ; D, closed body ; E, bandager. 



spread evenly over the bottom of the vat. The salt 
should be carefully weighed, and then applied, evenly, over 
the surface of the curd, in two or three applications. The 
curd should be thoroughly stirred after each application 

of salt. While the salt 
is being dissolved and 
absorbed, the curd 
should be stirred oc- 
casionally to prevent 
lum})s from forming. 

205. Hooping the 
curd. — When the salt 
has become dissolved 
and the curd as soft 
and mellow as before the salt was added, it is ready to be 
put into the hoop. Various sized hoops may be used, 
depending on the desired size of the cheese. Two types 
are the Wilson and the Fraser (Figs. 44, 45). With 
either type, a dampened press cloth should be cut just 
to fit the bottom of the hoop. 
A starched circle may or may 
not be used ; if used, it should 
be placed on top of the press 
cloth. The bandage now com- 
monly employed is the seamless 
one which comes in the form 
of a tube of various sizes for 
different sized hoops. The 
lengths of bandage cut for each 
hoop or cheese depend on the height of the cheese plus 
about one and one-half inches' lap on each end. The 
bandage, after being cut the desired length, is placed 
on the part of the hoop made to hold it, so that it is 




Fig. 45. — Fraser press hoop. 
A , complete hoop ; B, band- 
ager ; C, follower ; D, fi- 
brous press ring. 



CHEDDAR CHEESE-MAKING 213 

suspended about the side of the hoop and laps about 
one and one-half inches on the bottom. The band- 
age should be free from ravelings and placed squarely in 
the hoop. 

The hoop is now ready to fill with curd. Enough hoops 
should be prepared to hold all the day's curd as fast as 
it is ready. In order to have all the cheeses as nearly 
as possible of the same size, it is advisable to weigh the 
curd into the hoops. The curd may be measured into the 
hoops, but this is not so accurate. The curd may be 
dipped with a flat-sided curd pail 
or a curd scoop into the hoops 
(Fig. 46). 

206. Pressing the curd. — The 
natural changes sought in the 
curd require a period of at least 
five hours between the time of Fig. 46. — Curd scoop and 

/IT- i> 1 \ pail. 

settmg (addition oi the rennet) 

and the pressing of the curd. Less time than this involves 
loss in yield and quality of the cheese. In other words, 
the time requirement for these changes cannot be ignored. 
The object of pressing is not primarily to remove whey 
but to produce the physical conditions essential to ripen- 
ing the cheese in a mass and put it in convenient form 
for handling. The whey should have been removed 
during the cooking and cheddaring. When ready for 
the press, the temperature of the curd should be about 
80° to 85° F. ; it should be brought down to this point 
during the milling, salting and hooping processes. If the 
curd is put to press too warm or too cold, the following 
results may be expected : 

Too high temperature during pressing produces several 
faults, as : 




214 



TFIE BOOK OF CHEESE 



(1) Favors the development of undesirable ferments. 

(2) Causes excessive loss of fat. 

(3) Gives the curd pieces a greasy surface so that they 
will not readily pass into a compact cheese. If a cheese 
is greasy, the bandages will not stick. 

(4) Favors the formation of mechanical holes in the 
cheese. 

(5) Causes " seamy " color in the cheese by the collec- 
tion of fat between pieces of curd. 

Too low temperature has its difficulties, such as : 

(1) The pieces of curd will not fuse together. 

(2) The rind does not form properly. 

(3) It appears to cause mottled cheese. 

The commonly used gang press may or may not 
have an arrangement to cause continuous pressure to be 




Fig. 47. — Continuous pressure gang cheese-press. 

applied to the cheese (Figs. 47, 48). When fresh cheeses 
are first placed in the press, the pressure should be 
applied very gradually. The curd, after being cut through 



CHEDDAR CHEESE-MAKING 



215 




216 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

the mill, will have many exposed fat globules. A heavy 
pressure at first will force out the whey set free by the 
extracting power of the salt. The whey will carry away 
the exposed fat globules, and therefore reduce the yield. 
As soon as white whey starts from the hoops, the 
increased application of the pressure should be stopped 
until the whey regains the appearance of clear brine. 
More pressure can then be gradually applied until full 
pressure is reached. The cheeses should remain under 
heavy pressure for one-half to one hour, when they should 
be removed from the press and dressed. 

207. Dressing the cheese. — When ready to dress 
the cheese, the press is opened and the hoops turned down. 
The hoops are opened so that the bandages can be lapped 
over the top of the cheeses about 1| inches. Before 
turning a bandage down, it should be carefully pulled up 
to remove any wrinkles from the sides of the cheese, 
but not hard enough to pull it free from the bottom. 
After it is pulled up, the bandage should be lapped over 
the top about 1 1 inches, and if not even should be trimmed 
with a sharp knife. It should then be sopped down with 
warm water. Plenty of warm water to wet the bandage 
and cloths helps to form a good rind. If starched circles 
are used, one should be placed on the top of the cheese 
and sopped down with warm water. If not, the press cloth 
should be wrung out of warm water and put on smoothly, 
so there will be no wrinkles. The hoop is then put to- 
gether and placed back in the press under heavy pressure 
for twelve to eighteen hours. The pressure should be 
sufficient to cause the curd particles to unite so that the 
surface of the cheese will be smooth. The next day the 
cheeses are taken from the hoops and placed in the curing- 
room. If they do not come out of the hoop easily, they 



CHEDDAR CHEESE-MAKING 217 

may be loosened by cutting between the sides of the cheese 
and the hoop with a knife. A special thin-bladed knife 
for this purpose is called a speed knife (Fig. 49). Care 
should be taken not to cut the bandage when trying to 
loosen the cheese. If starched circles are used, the press 
cloths are removed from the cheese, when they are put 
in the curing-room. If neither starched circles nor press 
cloth are left on the cheese in the curing-room, the rind 
will crack on account 
of drying out on the 
exposed surface. This „ ,^ „ , , .. 

. Fig. 49. — Speed knife. 

allows mold and m- 

sects to enter the cheese. The flavor, body and texture 
and color of the cheese are all dependent on the skill of 
the cheese-maker and the quality of the milk from which it 
is made. The finish is dependent entirely on the skill and 
carefulness of the maker. An operator should see that 
the cheese press is straight so that there will be no 
crocked cheese and that the bandage and press cloths are 
properly put on, because the finish or appearance of the 
cheese is an index of his ability. 

208. Handling over-ripe and gassy milk. — Because 
it is sometimes necessary to make over-ripe ^ or gassy 
milk ^ into cheese, special directions or precautions are 
necessary. The best way is to reject this milk. When 
it is necessary to make it into cheese, the losses are much 

1 Decker, J. W., Cheesemaking from sour milk, Wis. Exp. 
Sta. Rept. 1898, pages 42-44. 

2 Russell, H. L., Cheese as affected by gas producing bacteria, 
Wis. Exp. Sta. Rept. 1895, pages 139-146. 

Marshall, C. E., Gassy curd and cheese, Mich. Exp. Sta. 
Bui. 183, 1900. 

Moore, V. A., and A. R. Ward, Causes of tainted cheese curds, 
N. Y. (Cornell) Exp. Sta. Bui. 158, 1899. 



218 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

more than with normal milk. It is a question of making 
as good a cheese as possible, and the subject of losses 
is ignored. 

(1) Oxer-ripe milk. — The fact that the milk is over- 
ripe shows that there is already too much acid present. 
Every effort must be made to get the curd as firm as pos- 
sible in the whey with the acid development as low as 
possible or before the acid has had time to develop any 
more than can be helped. Although the milk is over-ripe, 
it is a good plan to add about j of 1 per cent of starter just 
before the rennet. This starter will not begin to work until 
the curd is being cheddared and it will help the flavor, 
especially if any bad fermentation should be present. 

The rennet is added at 80° F., as this lower temperature 
tends to check the acid development. More rennet is used, 
commonly from 4 to 4| ounces to 1000 pounds of milk. 
This gives a quicker coagulation. The curd is cut soft, 
as this tends to expel the moisture more quickly. The 
heat is turned on sooner after cutting. The time to turn 
it on and the length of time to heat are determined by 
the amount of acid. A curd should not be heated in less 
than fifteen minutes. If the curd has enough acid and 
has not begun to firm up much, the whey should be drawn 
down to the surface of the curd, water the temperature 
of the whey and curd put into the vat, and the curd firmed 
up in this water. The water washes the acid out of the 
curd and because of the lack of milk-sugar checks the 
acid development. 

If the milk is not so ripe and the curd nearly firm 
enough, the whey may be drawn off and the curd firmed 
up by hard stirring in the vat or sink. The curd should 
not be pushed back enough to be very deep or thick 
when ready to cheddar. 



CHEDDAR CHEESE-MAKING 219 

The curd should be cut into very small pieces to cheddar. 
The smaller the pieces, the faster the whey drains away. 
Sometimes it is necessary to cut the curd into pieces six 
inches square. The pieces should not be piled but should be 
turned often and stood on edge to let the whey drain away 
and sometimes pressed with the hands to force the whey out. 
It is often all one man can do to keep the curd turned. 

The curd is not cheddared very long but is milled early 
so that the whey can escape. If it is thought that the 
cheese will be sour, the curd should be washed in cold 
water to remove the acid and milk-sugar. A little more 




Fig. 50. — At the left is a regular shaped, close, solid textured cheese; 
at the right one puffed up with gas. 

salt is sometimes used. A product made from over-ripe 
milk, no matter how skillful the cheese-maker, will show 
traces of a sour cheese. 

(2) Gassy milk. — If a cheese-maker knows that there 
is " gassy " fermentation, he should add more starter 
and develop more acid when ripening the milk to try to 
overcome this. There are different kinds of gassy fer- 
mentation. Some produce acid and some do not. Some 
will not show until the cheeses have been on the curing- 
room, shelves several days. Others will cause the curd 
to float in the whey. Usually the gas shows as pin-holes 
while, the curd is being cheddared. 



220 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



The gas causes tiny round holes in the cheese, resulting 
in the cheese swelling or puffing out of shape and some- 
times breaking open (Figs. 50, 51). The only time to 
overcome the gas is during the cheddaring process. The 
curd is piled and repiled until the holes flatten out. This 
shows that the gas-producing organisms have weakened 
and will not cause Viwx more holes. Because the curd has 




Fig. 51. 



■ Tliis shows the same cheeses as in Fig. 50, cut open to show 
the solid and gassy texture. 



to be piled so many times and so long, the pieces become 
very thin. The curd is ready to mill when most of the 
holes have flattened. After milling, the curd should be 
stirred and aired for some time before salting to allow the 
bad odor to escape. 

Because of the high acid development, it often happens 
that the cheese will not be gassy but will be sour. At 
best a cheese made from milk having gassy fermentation 
will have a bad flavor. The quality of the cheese can be 



CHEDDAR CHEESE-MAKING 221 

no better than that of the milk from which it is made, 
plus the skill of the cheese-maker. 

209. Qualities of Cheddar cheese. — The cheese should 
be neat, clean and attractive. If unclean, and the bandage 
not put on the cheese properly, it shows that the manu- 
facturer is not particular to keep the curing-room shelves 
tidy nor careful and painstaking in dressing. The 
cheese should not be lopsided or bulged. When cut, 
it should have a uniformly colored interior. The prin- 
cipal color defects are too high, or too light color, 
mottled or seamy. The texture should be solid and close. 
A common defect is mechanical holes or openings and 
another is gas pockets. The body can be tested by rub- 
bing the cheese between the thumb and fingers. It should 
be smooth and waxy and free from lumps. It should rub 
down like cold butter. The common defects are graini- 
ness and lumpiness. Graininess may be caused by too 
much acid or too much moisture in the cheese. Lumpi- 
ness is due to uneven curing. If top much moisture is 
present, the body will be soft and mushy ; if not enough 
moisture, the body will be hard and dry. 

The cheese should have a pleasant, clean, mild aroma 
and the characteristic flavor which is usually somewhat 
similar to that of nuts and so is spoken of as a nutty 
flavor. 



CHAPTER XIII 



COMPOSITION AND YIELD OF CHEDDAR 
CHEESE ■ ' 

So many factors affect the composition and yield of 
Cheddar cheese that no positive or exact statement can 
be made unless other facts are definitely known. The 
following factors affect both the composition and yield : 

1. The chemical composition of the milk. 

2. Amount of moisture incorporated into the cheese. 

3. The amount of solids lost in cheese-making. 

4. The skill of the cheese-maker. 

5. The bacterial-content of the milk. 

210. Composition of milk, whey and cheese. — The 
following Tables ^ VI, VII, VIII, which are the average 
of forty-eight factories for the season of 1893, show the 
minimum, maximum and average composition : 

TABLE VI 

Average Composition of the Milk 





Minimum 


Maximum 


Average 


Water 


86.28 


88.30 


87.28 


Total solids 


11.70 


13.72 


12.72 


Fat 


3.30 


4.40 


3.77 


Casein 


2.20 


2.85 


2.48 


Albumin 


0.52 


0.81 


0.69 


Sugar and ash, etc. . . 


5.63 


5.89 


5.78 



1 Van Slyke, L. L., Investigations relating to the manufac- 
ture of cheese, N. Y. (Geneva) Exp. Sta. Bui. 68, 1894. 

222 



COMPOSITION OF CHEDDAR CHEESE 223 

TABLE VII 

Average Composition op the Whey 





Minimum 


Maximum 


Average 


Water 


92.75 


93.28 


93.00 


Total solids 


6.72 


7.25 


7.00 


Fat 


0.24 


0.51 


0.38 


Casein, albumin . . . 


0.66 


0.99 


0.86 


Sugar, ash, etc 


5.63 


5.86 


5.76 



TABLE VIII 

Average Composition of the Green Cheese 



Water . . . 
Total solids . 
Fat . . . . 

Casein 

Sugar, ash, etc. 



Minimum 



33.16 
66.84 
30.00 
20.80 

4.86 



Maximum 



43.89 
56.11 
35.89 
25.48 
7.02 



37.33 
62.67 
33.41 
23.39 
5.89 



Table VI shows the minimum, maximum and average 
composition of the milk and Table VIII the composi- 
tion of the cheese made from that milk. The average 
composition of the cheese in Table VIII shows that it 
contains 37.33 per cent of water. The tendency to-day 
seems to be for a softer cheese so that the average would 
probably be higher. Table VIII also shows the wide 
variation in the composition of the cheese. The moisture 
and total solids both vary about 10 per cent. In order to 
judge the variation in composition, one must know the 



224 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



composition of the milk and the moisture-content of the 
cheese and then only a very inaccurate estimate of the 
composition of the cheese can be formed. 

211. Relation of fat to casein in normal milk. — In 
order to understand the relation of the composition of the 
milk to yield of cheese, one must be familiar with the rela- 
tion of the fat to the casein in normal milk. The follow- 
ing table ^ shows the relation of fat to casein in normal 
milk : 



TABLE IX 

Summary Showing the Relation of Fat to Casein 
IN Normal Milk 



Group 


Per Cent 

OF Fat in 

Milk 


Number 

OF 

Samples 


Average 

Per Cent 

OF Fat in 

Each 

Group 


Average 
Per Cent 
OF Casein 

IN Each 
Group 


Average 

Pounds of 

Casein for 

Each Pound 

of Fat in 

Milk 


I . . . 


3.0-3.5 


22 


3.35 


2.20 


0.66 


II . . . 


3.5-4.0 


112 


3.72 


2.46 


0.66 


Ill . . . 


4.0-4.5 


78 


4.15 


2.70 


0.65 


IV . . . 


4.5-5.0 


16 


4.74 


3.05 


0.64 


V . . . 


5.0-5.25 


7 


5.13 


3.12 


0.61 



Table IX shows that the pounds of casein for each 
pound of fat are not constant but that the casein does not 
increase in proportion to the fat above 4.0 per cent of fat 
in the milk. 

212. Influence of fat in milk on yield of cheese. — 
The following table shows the influence which fat in the 
milk has on the yield of cheese : ^ 



* Van Slyke, L. L., Investigations relating to the manufac- 
ture of cheese, N. Y. (Geneva) Exp. Sta. Bui. 62, 1893. 



COMPOSITION OF CHEDDAR CHEESE 



225 



TABLE X 

Summary Showing Relation of Fat in Milk to Yield 
OF Cheese 



Group 


Average Per 

Cent op Fat in 

Milk 


Pounds op Green Cheese 

Made prom 100 Lb. op 

Milk 


Pounds op 
Green Cheese 
Made for 1 Lb. 
OP Fat in Milk 


I . . . 

II . . . 
Ill . . . 
IV . . . 

V . . . 


3.35 
3.72 
4.15 
4.74 
5.13 


9.14 
10.04 
11.34 
12.85 
13.62 


2.73 
2.73 
2.70 
2.71 
2.66 



Table X shows that as the fat in the milk increases, 
the pounds of cheese made from 100 pounds of that milk 
increases ; but the amount of cheese made for each pound 
of fat in the milk does not increase. This is due to the 
fact pointed out in Table IX, namely, that as the fat in- 
creases in the milk the casein does not increase in the rich 
milk in proportion to the fat. From Tables IX and X 
this conclusion may be drawn : that as the percentage of 
fat increases in the milk the more cheese can be made 
from 100 pounds of that milk, but after the increase in 
fat gets above 4 per cent the amount of cheese that can 
be made for each pound of fat in the milk is decreased 
because the casein does not increase in proportion to the 
fat. No exact statement of yield can be made without 
first stating the moisture-content of the cheese. The 
losses also must be considered. 

Van Slyke^ in the following Table XI shows the effect 
of the fat-content of normal milk on the yield of cheese. 

^ Van Slyke, L. L., Methods of paying for milk at cheese 
factories, N. Y. (Geneva) Exp. Sta. Bui. 308, 1908. 

Q 



22Q 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



The moisture-content of all the cheeses is reduced to a 
uniform basis of 37 per cent. (See cut showing yield of 
cheese, Fig. 52.) 



' TROM 
100 LBS 
S MILK 




FROM 
100 LBS ■ FROM ~ 

a'/z MILK 100 LBS 

4 MILK 





Fig. 52. — The figures represent the relative yield of cheese containing 
different percentages of fat, but all have a uniform content of 37 per 
cent water. 

TABLE XI 

Table Showing the Effect of the Fat-Content of 
Normal Milk on the Yield of Cheese 



Per Cent op Fat 
IN THE Milk 


Per Cent op 
Casein in 
THE Milk 


Amount op 

Cheese Made 

PROM 100 Lb. 

OP Milk 


Amount op Cheese 

Made for Each 

Pound op Fat 

IN the Milk 


3.00 


2.10 


8.30 


2.77 


3.25 


2.20 


8.88 


2.73 


3.50 


2.30 


9.45 


2.70 


3.75 


2.40 


10.03 


2.67 


4.00 


2.50 


10.60 


2.65 


4.25 


2.60 


11.17 


2.63 


4.50 


2.70 


11.74 


2.61 


4.75 


2.80 


12.31 


2.59 


5.00 


2.90 


12.90 


2.58 



213. Fat loss in cheese-making. — The amount of 
solids lost in the whey also affects the yield. The follow- 



COMPOSITION OF CHEDDAR CHEESE 



227, 



ing table gives the amount of fat lost in whey with normal 
milk containing different percentages of fat : 



TABLE XII 

Summary Showing Amount of Fat in Milk Lost in 
Cheese-making 





Group 


Pounds op Fat in 
100 Lb. of Milk 


Pounds or Fat Lost 

IN Whey fob 100 

Lb. op Milk 


Per Cent op Fat 

IN Milk Lost 

IN Whey 


I . . . 

II . . . 

Ill . . . 

IV . . . 
V . . . 


3 to 3.5 
3.5 to 4 

4 to 4.5 
4.5 to 5 

5 to 5.25 


0.32 
0.33 
0.32 
0.28 
0.31 


9.55 
8.33 
7.70 
5.90 
6.00 



Table XII shows that the percentage of fat in the whey 
is approximately the same for milk high or low in fat. 
But the milk low in fat loses a higher percentage of the 
total milk-fat in each 100 pounds of whey. 

214. Effect of bacterial-content of milk on yield of 
cheese. — The bacterial-content ^ of the milk influences 
the yield by affecting both the moisture-content and the 
losses. If the milk is sour or has bad fermentation, the 
losses will be increased because the curd cannot be care- 
fully handled, and the moisture cannot be incorporated 
to the extent that it can in clean milk, without injury 
to the quality. The proper cooling of the milk in one 
instance increased the yield 0.3 pound of cheese for each 
100 pounds of milk. The more moisture that can be in- 
corporated into the cheese up to the legal limit, the greater 
the yield. 

^ Farm Bur. Exchange, St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., Vol. 1, no. 
9, 1915. Cooling milk before delivery at the cheese factory. 



228 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

215. Factors afifecting the moisture-content of Cheddar. 
— The amount of moisture that can be incorporated 
in a curd depends on several factors.^ The following in- 
crease the moisture-content control of the cheese : 

1. Cutting the curd coarse. 

2. High setting temperature. 

3. Low acid in the curd at time of removing whey. 

4. Not stirring the curd with the hand as the last of 
the whey is removed. 

5. Slow pressure. 

6. High piling of the curd in the cheddaring process. 

7. Small amount of salt. 

8. Holding the curd at low temperature after the whey 
is removed. 

9. Large amount of rennet. 
10. Cutting the curd hard. 

The following factors decrease the moisture-content of 
the cheese : 

1. Fine cutting. 

2. Low setting temperature. 

3. High acid in the curd at time of removing the whey. 

4. Stirring the curd with the hand as the last of the 
whey is removed. 

5. Fast pressure. 

6. Low piling of the curd in the cheddaring process. 

1 Sammis, J. L., et al.. Factors controlling the moisture con- 
tent of cheese curds, Wis. Exp. Sta. Research Bui. 7, 1910. 

Ont. Agr. College and Exp. Farm Rept. 1909, pages 111- 
124, Cheese making experiments. 

Ont. Agr. College and Exp. Farm Rept. 1910, pages 111-128, 
Cheese making experiments. 

Fisk, W. W., A study of some factors influencing the yield 
and the moisture content of Cheddar cheese, Cornell Exp. Sta. 
Bui. 334,, pages 515-537, 1913. 



COMPOSITION OF CHEDDAR CHEESE 229 

7. Large amount of salt. 

8. Holding the curd at high temperature after the 
whey is removed. 

9. Small amount of rennet. 
10. Cutting the curd soft. 

From this discussion, it is evident that the yield of 
cheese from 100 pounds of milk increases with higher 
percentages of fat and casein in the milk, with reduced 
losses of solids during manufacture, with the absence of 
undesirable fermentations, and with the incorporation of 
large amounts of water. 

216. Variations of the Cheddar process. — The Cheddar 
process, as already described, is widely employed in cheese 
factories. Many varieties are found, however, and 
varietal names are used for such products. A whole 
series of these forms are either locally or widely made in 
England and taught in the English dairy schools. Some 
of these varieties resemble the factory Cheddar product 
fairly closely ; others are clearly different products. A 
typical series of the variations as developed in America 
will be considered. 

In the commercial trade Cheddar cheese is usually 
designated by some name which indicates its size. The 
size of the cheese is determined by that of the hoops. 
The hoops vary both in diameter and height. The 
table on the following page shows the usual sizes of the 
hoops and the weight and name applied to the cheese. 

217. Cheddar-type cheese from pasteurized milk. — 
Sammis and Bruhn ^ have described a variation of the 
Cheddar process to overcome the difficulties of making 

1 Sammis, J. L., and A. T. Bruhn, The manufacture of cheese 
of the Cheddar type from pasteurized milk, U. S. Dept. Agr. 
Bur. An. Ind. Bui. 165, pages 1-95, 1913. 



230 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



cheese from pasteurized milk. Such milk curdles in very 
unsatisfactory manner unless some chemical is added to 
compensate for the salts lost and to offset the other 
changes resulting from heat. For this purpose, they 
found the use of hydrochloric acid satisfactory. 



TABLE XIII 
Size of Cheese Hoops, Weight, and Term Applied to 



Diameter of 


Height op 


Weight of 
Cheese 
Pounds 


Term Applied to 


Hoop 


Cheese 


Cheese 




G-7 in. 


7-8 in. 


9-11 


Young America 




Tapers 5-7 in. 


10-14 in. 


10-16 


Long Horn 




12-14 in. 


3^-4i in. 


18-24 


Daisy or Picnic 




14-15^ in. 


4-6 in. 


30-40 


Twin (two in same box) 


14-16 in. 


4-7 in. 


35-40 


Flat 




131-15 in. 


10-12 in. 


40-50 


Cheddar 




14-16 in. 


12-15 in. 


75-90 


Export 





" The acidulation of milk with hydrochloric acid after 
pasteurization is accomplished without difficulty or danger 
of curdling by running a small stream of the acid, of normal 
concentration, into the cooled milk as it flows from the 
continuous pasteurizer into the cheese vat. One pound of 
normal-strength acid is sufficient to raise 100 pounds of 
milk from O.IG per cent to 0.25 per cent acidity (calcu- 
lated as per cent of lactic acid). The amount of acid 
needed each day to bring the milk up to 0.25 per cent 
acidity is read from a table or calculated from the weight 
of the milk and its acidity, determined by the use of 
Manns's acid test (titration with tenth-normal sodium 
hydrate and phenolphthalein) . The preparation of stand- 
ard-strength acid in carboy lots for this work and the 



COMPOSITION OF CHEDDAR CHEESE 231 

acidulation of milk present no great difficulty to any one 
who is able to handle Manns's acid test correctly. 

" After the milk is pasteurized and acidulated three- 
fourths per cent of first-class starter is added and the vat 
is heated to 85°. It is set with rennet, using 2 ounces 
of rennet per thousand pounds of milk, so that the milk 
begins to curdle in 7 minutes and is cut with three-eighth 
inch knives in 25 minutes. All portions of the work 
after adding rennet are carried out in an unvarjdng routine 
manner, according to a fixed-time schedule every day. 
As soon as the rennet has been added the cheese maker 
is able to calculate the exact time of day when each of the 
succeeding operations should be performed, and the work 
of making the cheese is thu>s simplified and systematized. 
It is possible that the routine process here described may 
be varied somewhat with advantage at different factories." 

This cheese usually lacks characteristic Cheddar flavor 
or contains it in very mild form. It therefore satisfies 
only those who seek very mild flavored products. Efforts 
are now being made to find a flavor producing substance 
or organism which will bring the flavor of this product 
more nearly to that of typical Cheddar. 

218. Club cheese is known by a variety of trade 
names. It is made from Cheddar cheese, so that it is 
especially liked by persons who care for strong Cheddar 
flavor. It has a soft texture so that it spreads easily, 
and is therefore much used for sandwiches. Well-ripened 
or old Cheddar cheese is ground in a food chopper. The 
older the Cheddar, the stronger will be the flavor of the 
club cheese. Cheese of good flavor should be used. In 
order to do away with all lumps in the texture, it is some- 
times necessary to run the mixed cheese through the food 
chopper a second time. While all lumps must be worked 



232 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

out, care should be taken not to work the cheese so much 
that it will become salvy and sticky. 

Usually a little pepper is added, to give the cheese a 
biting taste. Some manufacturers add a great variety 
of substances, but these are not necessary and destroy 
the flavor of the cheese. 

Club cheese may be wrapped in tin-foil or put up in 
air-tight glass jars. The latter practice, while more 
expensive, has the advantage of making the cheese keep 
longer ; but for local trade tin-foil is just as satisfactory 
as glass. In filling the glass, care must be taken not to 
leave any air spaces between the cheese and the glass, 
as this is likely to permit the cheese to mold. A glass jar 
can be filled and air spaces prevented by first smearing 
a very thin layer of cheese over the glass. 

219. The stirred-curd or granular process. — The 
original practice as brought from England and followed 
in the farm dairies before the de\elopment of the factory 
system is now known \ariously as the " stirred-curd " 
or " granular curd " process. With the introduction of 
the cheese factory, as known to-day, this system was re- 
placed by the Cheddar cheese. The old farm process is 
still used on some farms and in a few factories. As the 
name indicates, the curd for such cheeses is kept stirred 
so that it remains in granular condition instead of being 
allowed to mat as in the Cheddar process. 

The early steps of the two processes are identical. They 
diverge at the point at which in the factory Cheddar 
process the whey is drawn and the curd is allowed to mat. 
In some factories the curd and part of the whey are dipped 
into a curd sink. This allows the whey to escape more 
easily and quickly. In the stirred-curd process, the 
pieces of curd are kept separated by stirring and not 



COMPOSITION OF CHEDDAR CHEESE 233 

allowed to mat. The whey is drawn off and the stirring 
continued by hand. After stirring fifteen to twenty 
minutes, the curd becomes so dry as not to mat easily. 
As soon as the curd has reached this stage, the salt is 
evenly and thoroughly mixed with it. More salt is added 
than in the Cheddar process because the curd is more 
moist than Cheddar curd at the time of salting. The 
whey freely separating carries away much of the salt. 
The quantity of salt to use depends on the amount of 
whey draining from the curd. After salting, the curd is 
allowed to cool, with occasional stirring to prevent the 
formation of lumps. The advantage of the stirred-curd 
practice lies in the shorter time required for making 
cheese and in the greater yield due to increased water-con- 
tent. It has several disadvantages, among them being : 
(1) lack of control of undesirable fermentation; if gas 
organisms are present, the cheeses more frequently huff 
than with the Cheddar system ; (2) there is more fat 
lost while stirring the curd, hence quality and yield suffer; 
(3) the water is not so thoroughly incorporated, which 
more frequently results in mottled cheeses; (4) the 
body is commonly soft and " weak," shows mechanical 
holes, and cures too rapidly. These faults are closely 
correlated with the presence of higher percentages of 
water than in cheeses made by the Cheddar process. In 
other words, the stirred-curd process usually produces a 
cheese with higher water-content, hence more subject 
to the development of unfavorable fermentation than the 
Cheddar cheeses. 

220. California Jack cheese ^ is very similar to the 
stirred-curd or granular j)rocess. This cheese was orig- 
inally made in Monterey County on the coast of Cali- 
^ New York Prod. Review, Vol. 34, no. 2, page 66. 



234 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

fornia, about twenty-five years ago, in small quantities, 
but after it was found to sell well other counties started 
to manufacture it. As Monterey was the first county 
to make this product, it was named " Monterey " cheese. 
In order to distinguish the cheese made in other counties 
from this, it was suggested that it be given a name and, 
consequently, it was called " Jack " cheese. This has 
been accepted as its true name. The cheese is made 
mostly by Portuguese and Italian-Swiss, although some 
of the best of the variety is now manufactured near 
Modesto, California. 

This cheese is adapted for manufacture on small dairy 
farms, where there is inexpensive and scanty equip- 
ment. The smaller sizes of cheese are made and ripened 
quickly. It has become widely used in California. 

The cheese is made every morning, from evening's 
and morning's milk. The former is put into the cheese 
vat at night, and morning's milk is added as milking is 
going on. When the milk is all in the vat, it is immedi- 
ately warmed to 86° to 88° F. and rennet extract is added 
(when milk has 0.2 to 0.21 of 1 per cent acidity) at the 
rate of 6 to 8 ounces to 1000 pounds of milk. No coloring 
matter is used. It is ready for the curd-knife in thirty to 
thirty-five minutes, its readiness being determined the 
same as in making Cheddar cheese. The curd is first cut 
lengthwise of the vat with the horizontal curd-knife and 
allowed to stand until the whey rises over and partly 
covers the curd, when it is cut again with the vertical 
curd-knife crosswise of the vat. It is then hand-stirred, 
gently at first, and the stifring is finished with the rake. 

Either a steam-heating or self-heating vat is used (the 
steam-heating vat is preferred) and temperature increased 
about one degree in five minutes. The curd is heated to 



COMPOSITION OF CHEDDAR CHEESE 235 

98°F. in winter, and to 105° F. to 1 10° F. in summer. After 
temperature is up, it is stirred occasionally with a rake 
until the whey is drawn at 0.14 to 0.15 of 1 per cent 
acidity. 

The curd is hand-stirred as soon as the whey is nearly 
drained off, and raked to each side of the vat to drain more 
thoroughly, when it is quickly stirred again to keep it 
from lumping or matting. Salt is now added at the rate 
of l| pounds to 100 pounds of curd, and stirred in thor- 
oughly several times. During the salting process, cold 
water is allowed to run under the vat, the hot water hav- 
ing been run off previously. 

Curd is put into cloths at a temperature of 80° to 85° F. 
No cheese hoops are used. Two sets of press cloths are 
necessary ; one set is ready to use while the other is still 
on the cheese in the press. These press cloths are about 
one yard square. The press cloths are all laid out evenly 
one on top of the other, as many as there are cheeses. 
They are then taken together and spread out over the 
top of a large, open tin milk-pail, and pushed down in 
the center to the bottom of the pail, with the edges hang- 
ing over the top. A common one-gallon lard pail is used 
to measure the curd into the press cloths. A lard pail 
full will make a cheese weighing six and one-half pounds, 
which is the popular size. After a pailful has been put 
into the press cloth, the four corners are caught up with 
the left hand, while with the right hand the curd is formed 
round and the press cloth straightened and the other 
corners in turn taken up. The press cloth is now taken 
up tight over the curd with the left hand, while the 
cheese is given a rolling motion on the table with the right 
hand, pressing at the same time to expel some of the 
whey. This twists the press cloth tight over the curd, 



236 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

^vhere it is tied with a stout string. After fixing them 
all (as many as there are cheeses) in this way, they are 
ready for the press. 

The cheeses are pressed between two wooden planks, 
12 inches wide, 1§ inches thick, by whatever length is 
reqiiireii for the nmnber of cheeses to be pressed. One 
plank is nailed on supports at a convenient height from 
the floor on a little slant for the whey to drain off better. 
The cheeses in the press cloths are placed at the proper 
distance apart so they do not touch. Then the other 
plank is put squarely over the top of the cheese and levers 
about four feet long at an interval of five feet are placed 
over this plank, from a cleat in the wall, on the other end 
of which is placed a hea\y weight of about 100 pounds, 
which acts as an automatic pressure. The cheeses are 
left in the press until the next morning, when they are 
taken out and put on the shelves in the curing-room. 
The cheeses have no bandage or covering, and do not 
seem to crock, and they form a very good rind. 

The cheese is a sweet \'ariety, weighs six and one-half 
pounds cured and cures in about three weeks ready to 
ship, and sells at 10 to 25 cents a pound wholesale. Most 
of the work seems to lie in forming and rolling the curd in 
press cloths before pressing. Trouble is experienced by 
the makers, especially in warm climates in summer, in 
not having the milk at a uniform acidity when rennet is 
added. Great improvements could be made in this cheese 
by using an acidimeter, paraffining and curing the cheese 
in an even temperature, not much over 60° F. 

Old and hard Jack cheese is also employed for grat- 
ing and cooking, while the fresh is used for the table. 

221. The washed-curd process has been developed 
in recent years largely in the state of New York. In 



COMPOSITION OF CHEDDAR CHEESE 237 

this mctliofl, a rcj:jular Cheddar curd is made up to 
the time of mi^iIlf,^ This curd is washed or soaked in 
cold water during or directly after millinj^. The theoreti- 
cal object of this washing is to carry away bad flavors and 
to reduce over-development of acidity by washing away 
all traces of whey. However, cheese-makers soon found 
that it increased the yield and this led some to carry it 
to extremes. 

After the curd has been milled, it is covered with cold 
water. The temperature of this water ranges from 50° F. to 
70° F. The curd is stirred in this water for various lengths 
of time according to the judgment of the cheese-maker. 
This time varies from five miimtes to one hour. Some- 
times the vat is partly filled with water and the curd 
milled directly into the water. This process has certain 
advantages and disadvantages. 

The advantages are : if too much acid has developed 
in the curd, this washing will reduce it so that the cheese 
will not l)e sour. Sometimes when bad flavors are present 
in the curd, washing will tend to overcome or remove 
them. Its disadvantages are : the larger yield due to 
excessive soaking tempts the makers to soak curd beyond 
the time needed to relieve the initially sour condition. 
Curd soaked in this way produces cheeses containing 
percentages of water so high as to lower their quality. 
This increases the yield sometimes as much as 3 to 5 
per cent. Such a cheese is very soft in texture and 
does not cure like a Cheddar cheese which has not been 
washed. Part of the lactic acid, milk-sugar ^ and the 

^ Babeoek, S. M., e^ al., Cheese ripening as influenced by sugar, 
Wis. Exp. Sta. Rept. 1901, pages 162-167. 

E. G. Hastings, et al., Studies on the factors concerned in the 
ripening of Cheddar cheese, Wis. Exp. Sta. Research Bui. 25. 



238 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

inorganic salts are removed by this washing. A \\ ashed- 
curd cheese will sometimes rot, due to the activity of the 
putrefactive bacteria, and to the lack of the restraining 
effect of the lactic acid-forming bacteria. Some washed- 
curd cheeses are so soft that they will not retain their 
normal shape. 

A washed-curd cheese is never sour because the milk- 
sugar and lactic acid have been removed by washing. 

222. English dairy cheese. — In some localities cheeses* 
are still made on the farms. These are mostly produced* 
after the stirred-curd process, hence are soft-bodied and. 
open-textured. They usually weigh ten to twelve pounds* 
and are three to four inches thick and twelve inches in. 
diameter. 

223. Pineapple cheese. — This variety derives its 
name from the fact that the cheeses are made in about 
the size and shape of a pineapple. The curd is made 
after the Cheddar process from either whole milk or 
partly skimmed milk. It is pressed in molds shaped 
like a pineapple. The cheeses are then hung in nets 
to give the checked appearance on the surface. They are 
rubbed with linseed oil to prevent the surface cracking, 
and finally are shellacked. 

224. Leyden. — Among specialties, a cheese called Ley- 
den originating in Holland is made in Michigan and New 
York. This is a part skim cheese heavily spiced with 
caraway seed. The ripe cheese is colored red as it goes 
to market. 

225. Cheddar cheese with pimientos. — Recently some 
Cheddar cheeses have been made with pimientos 
added. This gives a mixture of characteristic Cheddar 
and pimiento flavors, which seems to be desired by some 
persons. An ordinary Cheddar curd is made and the 



COMPOSITION OF CHEDDAR CHEESE 239 

pimientos added just before salting. The pimientos are 
ground rather coarsely and then added to the curd to- 
gether with the liquid which was with the pimientos in the 
can. The pimiento should be thoroughly and evenly 
mixed with the curd to insure a uniform distribution and 
mottled color in the cheese. The salt is then applied. 
The remainder of the process is the same as for ordinary 
Cheddar cheese. 

226. Sage cheese is a product flavored from the 
leaves of the ordinary garden sage. It is made by two 
methods : one, in which the sage leaves are used, and the 
other, in which a part of the curd is colored to imitate that 
given by the sage leaves, and sage oil or tea is used to give 
the flavor. 

In the leaf method, a regular Cheddar cheese curd is 
made up to the time of salting. Just before the salt is 
added, sage leaves are mixed with the curd. The leaves 
should be dried and freed from stems and other coarse 
particles and the leaves themselves broken up rather 
finely. The leaves are then added at the rate of 3 ounces 
for every 1000 pounds of milk. Care must be exercised 
to see that the leaves are evenly mixed through the 
curd or an evenly mottled cheese will not result. The 
salt is then added. This sequence seems to increase the 
absorption of the flavor by the curd. 

If these cheeses are consumed as soon as well cured, 
no fault can be found. On the other hand, if they are 
held for any length of time, yellow areas form about each 
piece of sage leaf ; the leaves decay rapidly and spoil 
the cheese. This method gives a very true flavored 
sage cheese, the only objection being that it cannot be 
held in storage for any length of time without a marked 
deterioration. 



240 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

In the otlier method of making; sage cheese, either a 
vat with a movable partition or a hirge and a small vat 
must be used. In many cases the receiving can is used as 
the small vat. After the milk is properly ripened and 
ready to set, one-sixth to one-seventh of the milk is put 
into the small vat. To this small vat, green coloring mat- 
ter is added. Juice from the leaves of corn, clover, or 
spinach was formerly used as coloring. Consequently the 
manufactiu-e of sage cheese by this method was limited 
to the seasons of the year when these leaves could be 
obtained. Now, however, the dairy supply houses have 
a harmless green color paste which is much cheaper and 
can be secured at any season of the year. The amount 
of color paste to use will vary from 30 to 35 c.c. for every 
1000 pounds of total milk. This should be added to the 
small vat of milk. It gives a green milk and later a green 
curd. 

Both vats are worked along together, until the time for 
remo\ing the whey. Then the partition in the vat is 
removed or the small vat is mixed with the large one. 
The green curd should then be e^■enly mixe<i with the 
white one or an even green mottled cheese will not result. 
The curds should not be mixed until they are well firmed 
or the white curd will take on a greenish cast and spoil 
the appearance of the cheese. 

After the whey is removed, the curd is allowed to mat 
as in ordinary Cheddar but care must be exercised to pile 
the curd so that it cannot spread or " draw " out. If 
it does draw out, the small green spots will be stretched 
out and large blotches or patches of green will be the 
result. The cheese-maker must watch the curd closely 
or he may not secure the much desired small green mottles. 
When the curd is well matted, it is milled as in Cheddar. 



COMPOSITION OF CHEDDAR CHEESE 241 

Just before the salt is added, the sage extract is applied 
to the curd. 

The sage extract can be obtained from dairy supply 
houses, or a sage tea can be made by steeping the sage 
leaves. In many cases the commercial extract gives the 
cheese a strong disagreeable flavor, but not a true sage 
flavor. The sage tea gives a flavor more like that of 
the leaves themselves. Too much of the extract or the 
leaves will give a very rank flavor. The sage extract 
can best be put on the curd by means of a sprayer or 
atomizer with which it can be evenly sprayed over the 
entire surface. The extract should be applied two or 
three times and the curd well stirred after each application. 
The amount of the extract to use depends altogether on 
its strength ; an ounce of the extract or three ounces of 
sage tea to 1000 pounds of milk is about the correct 
amount. After the extract has been added, the salt is 
used at the same rate as with a normal Cheddar curd 
and the sage curd is carried along the same as a Cheddar. 

This extract method gives a sage cheese mottled with 
small green spots which somewhat resemble the green of 
sage leaves. A cheese made in this way can be held for 
a long time, as nothing has })een added which can decay. 
The only objection to this method is that the sage extract 
may not give a true sage flavor. Therefore, the maker 
must try to obtain the best extract possible or make his 
own from the sage leaves. 

227. Skimmed-milk Cheddar cheese.^ — The process of 
making skimmed-milk cheese after the Cheddar process is 
varied with the amount of fat left in the milk. Before 
attempting to make skimmed-milk Cheddar, one should be- 

1 Fisk, W. W., Skim-milk Cheddar cheese, N. Y. (Cornell) 
Exp. Sta. Ex. Bui. 18, 1917. 

B 



242 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

come familiar with the process for whole-milk Cheddar. 
Skimmed-milk cheeses are usually highly colored. 

When part skimmed-milk cheese is manufactured, there 
is often difficulty in getting the milk in the vat to test the 
desired percentage of fat. Some cheese-makers skim all 
the milk and then put in the desired amount of cream. 
This practice seems wasteful, not only because of the cost 
of separation, but because the fat will not mix easily 
with the milk but will tend to float on the surface. If the 
fat floats, there will be a large loss. After a very few 
trials an operator can tell about how much of the whole 
milk must be skimmed in order to have the mixed skimmed- 
milk and whole milk test the desired percentage of fat. 
The necessary percentage of fat in the mixed milk to pro- 
duce cheese of a certain grade can be determined by 
testing the cheese bv the Babcock test. (See Chapter 
XIX.) 

228. Full skimmed-milk Cheddar cheese. — In the 
summer there is not much demand for full skimmed-milk 
cheese, but it is made in large quantity in winter. The 
method of manufacture is as follows : 

Skimmed-milk as it comes from the separator is at a 
temperature of about 88° to 90° F. ; it is ripened and set 
at this temperature. It is ripened rather highly on the 
acid test, from O.IS to 0.20 of 1 per cent, and to correspond 
on the rennet test which will not be many spaces. In 
about twenty-five to thirty minutes it is coagulated ready 
for cutting. The curd of skimmed-milk cheese is cut a little 
softer than is that of whole-milk cheese. IMilk is usually 
set at 88° to 90° F. The curd is not ordinarily cooked 
above this temperature. If the milk was 84° to 86° F. 
when set, then the curd should be raised to 88° to 90° F. 
The curd firms in the whey very rapidly, ^^^len firm 



COMPOSITION OF CHEDDAR CHEESE 243 

enough, it should have a sHght development of acid. 
On the acid test it should show 0.17 to 0.19 per cent, and 
on the hot iron | to j of an inch. The milk should 
be ripe enough or starter enough should have been used, 
so that the acid will continue to develop in the " pack " 
very rapidly. During the cheddaring process the curd 
is piled more rapidly and in higher piles than is cus- 
tomary with whole-milk cheese. This is necessary to 
incorporate or assimilate a large percentage of water or 
whey in the cheese. Therefore the process of skimmed-milk 
Cheddar cheese is much shorter. More acid is developed 
with the skimmed-milk than with the whole-milk cheese 
because it seems necessary to develop proper texture. 
If the acid is not developed sufficiently, the cheese will be 
very rubbery and cure very slowly, in which case bad 
fermentation and flavor may and often do develop. 
The curd is turned, piled or cheddared in the vat until 
it begins to become meaty and fibrous. If there is danger 
of too much acid, the curd may be rinsed off with water. 
It is then milled and salted at the rate of 1 or \\ pounds 
of salt to the curd from each 1000 pounds of milk. The 
remainder of the process is the same as that for making 
whole-milk cheese. 

229. Half skimmed-milk Cheddar cheese. — No definite 
directions can be given for the manufacture of part skimmed- 
milk cheese, because the process varies with the amount 
of fat left in the milk. As the fat is decreased, the pro- 
cess becomes more like that for making full skimmed-milk 
cheese ; as the fat is increased, the process becomes more 
like that for whole-milk cheese. However, the process 
of making half skimmed-milk cheese is about midway be- 
tween the two. The milk is ripened more than it would be 
for whole-milk cheese, usually until it tests from 0.15 to 0.17 



244 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

of 1 per cent acid. The curd is coagulated and cut the 
same as for the other skimmed-milk cheeses. It is cooked to 
a temperature just sufficient to firm the curd, usually from 
94° to 96° F. The lower the temperature at which the 
curd can be cooked and yet become firm, the better is 
the texture of the cheese. When the curd has firmed 
enough, or when sufficient acid development, from 0.15 
to 0.17 of 1 per cent, has taken place, the whey is removed. 
The curd is then turned, piled or cheddared. A skimmed- 
milk curd may be piled much more rapidly than a whole- 
milk curd without danger of injuring it. When the curd 
becomes meaty or fibrous, it is milled. It should be 
salted at the rate of Ij to 2 pounds of salt to the curd 
from each 1000 pounds of milk. The remainder of the 
process is the same as that for making whole-milk cheese. 
The cheese-maker should observe the following points 
when making skimmed-milk cheese : (1) Have clean-flavored 
sweet milk ; (2) use clean-flavored commercial starter ; 

(3) • ripen the milk sufficiently, but not too much ; 

(4) firm the curd at as low a temperature as possible ; 

(5) have the curd properly firmed when the whey is 
drawn ; (6) cheddar the curd faster than the curd from 
whole milk ; (7) make the cheeses all the same size ; 
(8) keep the cheese neat and clean in the curing-room. 

230. Yield and qualities of skimmed-milk Cheddar 
cheese. — The results of skimming different percentages of 
whole mflk containing varying percentages of fat are given 
in the following table. As the percentage of fat in the 
milk decreases, the yield of cheese also decreases, accord- 
ing to the table. As the percentage of fat decreases 
in the milk, the percentage of moisture in the cheese 
increases, showing that moisture is substituted for fat. 
The yield of cheese from 100 pounds of milk is also given 



COMPOSITION OF CHEDDAR CHEESE 



245 



in this table. This yield varies with the amount of mois- 
ture incorporated into the cheese, the amount of solids not 
fat in the milk, and the solids lost in the whey. 



TABLE XIV 

Table Showing the Composition and Yield of Skimmed- 
MiLK Cheddar Cheese 



Per- 


Per- 
centage 

OF THE 

Milk 
Skimmed 


Percent- 
age OF Fat 
in the 
Milk 
IN the Vat 

After 
Skimming 


Number 
OF Pounds 
OF Cheese 
from 100 
Pounds 
OF Milk 


Composition op the 


Cheese 


centage 
OP Fat 

IN THE 

Milk 


Percentage 

of Total 

Solids 


Percentage 
of Fat 


Percentage 
of Water 


4.7 


50 


2.4 


9.92 


54.75 


22.00 


45.25 


4.7 


60 


2.0 


9.74 


52.46 


17.50 


47.54 


4.7 


70 


1.5 


9.26 


49.87 


13..50 


50.13 


4.7 


SO 


1.0 


8.42 


48.26 


10.00 


51.74 


4.0 


50 


2.0 


9.70 


53.29 


21.00 


46.71 


4.0 


()0 


1.6 


9.50 


50.89 


17.00 


49.11 


4.0 


70 


1.2 


9.30 


48.06 


13.50 


51.94 


4.0 


SO 


0.9 


9.20 


45.24 


10.50 


54.76 


3.5 


50 


l.S 


8.54 


54.20 


19.50 


45.80 


3.5 


00 


1.5 


8.10 


51.10 


16..50 


48.90 


3.5 


70 


1.1 


7.44 


52.62 


13.00 


47.38 


3.5 


SO 


0.9 


7.00 


49.64 


9.,54 


50.36 


3.4 


50 


1.9 


8.24 1 


54.50 


20.00 


45.50 


3.4 


(JO 


1.5 


7.82 


52.05 


16.50 


47.95 


3.4 


70 


/1.4 


/ 7. SO 


/ 49.04 


/ 14.00 


/ 50.96 


11.2 


\7.28 


\ 50.76 


\ 14.00 


\ 49.24 


3.4 


80 


0.9 


7.24 


47.41 


10.50 


52.59 



In some creameries and cheese factories, the milk is 
skimmed and the cream made into butter and the skimmed- 
milk into cheese by the Cheddar process. In making 
cheese without the milk-fat, it is difficult to standardize 
a method that will produce the flavor and body of the 

^ Curd was spilled but practically all recovered. 



246 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

whole-milk Cheddar cheese. A skimmed-milk cheese lacks 
the softness and mellowness of texture of the whole-milk 
product. It is very likely to be tough, dry or leathery. It 
is attempted to remedy this defect by incorporating more 
moisture into the skimmed-milk cheese. The added mois- 
ture tends to replace the fat in giving a soft mellow body. 
It requires skill on the part of the cheese-maker to incorpo- 
rate moisture to take the place of the fat in giving the 
cheese mellowness and smoothness of body. 

The grades of skimmed-milk cheese vary between rather 
wide limits — from those made entirely of skimmed-milk 
to those made of milk from which only a small amount 
of fat has been removed and which are almost like whole- 
milk cheese. Because of the gradations of skimmed-milk 
cheese, it is difficult to make anything but general state- 
ments and to base comparisons with whole-milk cheese. 



CHAPTER XIV 
CHEDDAR CHEESE RIPENING 

Freshly made Cheddar cheese is hard, tough and elastic 
and lacks characteristic cheese flavor. In this condi- 
tion it is called " green," unripe or not cured. Before 
the cheese is ready to be eaten, it passes through a 
complex series of changes which are collectively known 
as ripening. In the ripening process the texture 
becomes soft and mellow and the characteristic cheese 
flavors develop. Cheese ripening must be considered 
from two view-points, first, the changes taking place in- 
side the cheese and secondly the outside conditions neces- 
sary for ripening. Some of the chemical changes during 
ripening are known, while others are not understood. The 
different agents causing ripening, and the constituents of 
the milk, will be discussed. 

231. Fat. — Numerous investigations have been made 
to ascertain what chemical changes the fat undergoes 
in the ripening process. Suzuki,^ in studying the fat, 
found no enzyme capable of producing lactic acid or 
volatile fatty acids. However, these acids were found 
in increasing amounts during the ripening process and 
after the lactose had disappeared. Acetic and propionic 
acids reached a maximum at three months and then 

^ Suzuki, S. K., et al., Production of fatty acids and esters in 
Cheddar cheese, Wis. Exp. Sta. Research Bui. 11. 

247 



248 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

decreased, while butyric and caproic acids continually in- 
creased during the experimental period covered. Formic 
acid was detected in the whole-milk cheese only at the 
five and one-half month stage. In the judgment of 
the experimenter the principal source of acetic and 
propionic acids was probably lactates. Traces of these 
acids may have had their origin in protein decomposition 
or further fermentation of glycerine. The principal 
sources indicated for butyric and caproic acids were fats 
and proteins. 

The distillate from the experimental cheese was desig- 
nated " flavor solution " and contained alcohols and 
esters, giving a close resemblance to the cheese aroma. 
The " flavor solution " from the mild whole-milk cheese 
contained esters made up largely of ethyl alcohol and acetic 
acid, while from the more pungent skimmed-milk cheese 
the esters were largely compounds of ethyl alcohol and 
caproic and butyric acids. The alcohol may have come 
from the lactose fermentation. It appears to be an im- 
portant factor in flavor production. The agencies opera- 
tive in the production of volatile acids and syntheses of 
esters are as yet undefined. 

232. Milk-sugar. — The milk-sugar (lactose) is changed 
into lactic acid by the lactic acid-forming organisms, 
within the first few days after the cheese is made. 
This acid is combined with the other constituents as fast 
as it is formed. After a few days, the milk-sugar will 
have entirely disappeared from the cheese.^ The relation 
between the milk-sugar and lactic acid is very close. It 
is necessary that milk-sugar be present in order later to 
have the lactic acid develop. 

1 Babcock, S. M., et al., Cheese ripening as influenced by sugar, 
Wis. Exp. Sta. Rept. 1901, pages 162-167. 



CHEDDAR CHEESE RIPENING 249 

233. The salts. — Just what changes the salts ^ undergo 
or how they combine with the other compounds is not 
definitely known. It is supposed that the calcium salts 
first combine with the phosphates and later, as the lactic 
acid is formed, they combine with the lactic acid, forming 
a calcium lactate. 

234. Gases. — In the process of cheese ripening, 
gases are formed, the commonest being carbon dioxide.^ 
Exactly how this gas is formed is not known. It may be 
due to the formation of lactic acid from the milk-sugar 
or to the living organisms in the cheese. 

235. Casein or proteins. — Complex ripening changes 
in the cheese take place in the casein compounds or pro- 
teins. Because of the complex chemical nature of the 
proteins and the various agents acting on them, it is diffi- 
cult to follow these changes. This has led to different 
opinions regarding the ripening process. The various 
compounds thought to be formed from the casein or pro- 
teins are as follows : ^ 

1 Bosworth, A. W., and M. J. Prucha, Fermentation of citric 
acid in milk, N. Y. (Geneva) Exp. Sta. Tech. Bui. 14, 1910. 

Van Slyke, L. L., and A. W. Bosworth, Condition of casein 
and salts in milk, N. Y. (Geneva) Exp. Sta. Tech. Bui. 39,' 1914. 

Van Slyke, L. L., and E. B. Hart, A study of some of the salts 
formed by casein and paracasein with acids ; their relation to Amer- 
ican Cheddar cheese, N. Y. (Geneva) Exp. Sta. Bui. 214, 1902. 

Van Slyke, L. L., and E. B. Hart, Some of the relations of 
casein and paracasein to bases and acids and their application 
to Cheddar cheese, N. Y. (Geneva) Exp. Sta. Bui. 261, 1905. 

Van Slyke, L. L., and O. B. Winter, Cheese ripening investi- 
gations, N. Y. (Geneva) Exp. Sta. Tech. Bui. 33, 1914. 

2 Van Slyke, L. L., and E. B. Hart, The relation of carbon 
dioxide to proteolysis in the ripening of Cheddar cheese, N. Y. 
(Geneva) Exp. Sta. Bui. 231, 1903. 

3 Van Slyke, L. L., and E. B. Hart, Some of the compounds 
present in American Cheddar cheese, N. Y. (Geneva) Exp. 
Sta. Bui. 219, 1902. 



250 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

Paracasein (formed by the action of the rennet on the 
casein) . Insokible in brine and warm 5 per cent salt brine. 

Protein. Soluble in warm 5 per cent salt brine. 

Protein. Insoluble in warm salt brine or water. 

ParanucJein. A protein soluble in water and precipi- 
table by dilute hydrochloric acid. 

Caseoscs and proteoses. Protein derivations soluble in 
water and not coagulated by heat. 

Peptones. Protein derivations simpler than the pro- 
teoses, soluble in water and not coagulated by heat. 

Amido acids. Protein derivations soluble in water, 
least complex except ammonia. 

Ammonia. The simplest protein derivations. 

From the discussion of the constituents in the milk 
and cheese, it is evident that practically all the prin- 
cipal ripening changes are concerned with those taking 
place in the proteins. 

236. Causes of ripening changes. — Authorities dis- 
agree as to the exact agents which cause the ripening 
changes. Some think they are due to the action of the 
enzymes in the rennet and those secreted in the milk. 
Others hold that these changes are due entirely to 
bacterial action. A combination of the two seems prob- 
able. The action of the rennet extract renders the 
casein insoluble and in the ripening process the pro- 
teins become soluble, the degree depending on the length 
of time the cheese is ripened. The amount of water- 
soluble proteins and protein derivatives is used as a meas- 
ure of the extent of cheese ri}>ening, considered from a 
chemical standpoint. 

237. Action of the rennet extract. — Some authorities 
hold that rennet extract contains two enzymes, rennin 
and pepsin, while others thmk it is a single peptic fer- 



CHEDDAR CHEESE RIPENING 251 

ment. These enzymes produce effects ^ closely related to, 
if not identical with, those of pepsin in the following par- 
ticulars : neither the rennet enzyme nor pepsin causes 
much, if any, proteolytic change except in the presence 
of acid ; the quantitative results of proteolysis furnished 
by the rennet enzyme and pepsin agree closely, when 
working on the same material under comparable condi- 
tions ; the classes of soluble nitrogen compounds formed 
by the two enzymes are the same, both quantitatively and 
qualitatively ; neither enzyme forms any considerable 
amount of amido compounds and neither produces any 
ammonia ; the soluble nitrogen compounds formed by 
both enzymes are confined to the group of compounds 
known as paranuclein, caseoses and peptones. 

Rennet exerts a digestive effect on the casein ^ which is 
intensified by the development of acid in the curd. The 
soluble nitrogenous products formed in Cheddar cheese 
by the rennet enzymes are the albumoses and the higher 
peptones. Experiments show that no flavor develops 
until the amido acids and ammonia are formed. When 
the rennet enzymes were the only digesting ferments in 
the cheese, there was no trace of cheese flavor. This is 
probably due to the fact that the rennet enzyme changed 
the casein into caseoses and peptones but did not form 
amido acids and ammonia. Some authorities ^ think 

1 Van Slyke, L. L., et al., Action of rennin or casein, N. Y. 
(Geneva) Exp. Sta. Tech. Bui. 31, 1913. 

Van Slyke, L. L., et al., Cheese ripening investigations ; rennet 
enzyme as a factor in cheese ripening, N. Y. (Geneva) Exp. 
Sta. Bui. 233, 1903. 

2 Bosworth, A. W., Studies relating to the chemistry of milk 
and casein, N. Y. (Geneva) Exp. Sta. Tech. Bui. 37, 1914. 

2 Wis. Exp. Sta. Rept. 1898, Distribution of galactase in 
milk from different sources, pages 87-97. 

Wis. Exp. Sta. Rept. 1903, pages 195-197, 201-205, 222-223, 
Action of proteolytic ferments on milk. 



252 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



that the enzyme galactase carries the ripening of the 
protein from this stage. The question arises whether 
these intermediate compounds must be found before other 
agents can form the amido acids and ammonia. 

TABLE XVI 

Showing the Effect of Different Amounts of Rennet 
Extracts on the Rate of Formation of Soluble 
Nitrogen Compounds in Cheese Ripening 



quantitt op 
Rennet Added per 
1000 Lb. of Milk 


Per Cent op Water Soluble Nitrogen Compounds in 
THE Cheese 


Initifil 


32 days 


80 days 


270 days 


2oz. 

4 oz. 

8 oz. 

IG oz. 


0.14 
0.16 
O.K) 
0.14 


0.47 
0.75 

0.90 
1.26 


0.68 

1.13 
1.50 
1.70 


1.30 
1.74 
1.97 
2.04 



The above table shows that the more rennet extract 
used the faster the cheese cures, measured by the 
amount of water-sohible nitrogen compounds formed in 
the cheese. 

238. The action of the bacteria. — Authorities ^ dis- 
agree as to the groups of bacteria found in Cheddar 
cheese. This may be due to lack of proper classification. 
Some of the groups are : Bacterium lactis acidi, B. 
coll communis, B. lactis aerogenes, B. casci, Streptococci, 
B.^ Bulgaricum and IVIicrococci. Authorities agree that 
the B. lactis acidi group is the most prominent. This 
group makes up 90 per cent or more of the total bacteria 

1 Wis. Exp. Sta. Rept. 1900, pages 102-122. 

2 Harding, H. A., and M. .J. Prueha, The bacterial flora of 
Cheddar cheese, N. Y. (Geneva) Exp. Sta. Tech. Bui. 8. 

3 Bacterium, Bacillus and Lactobacillus are preferred by dif- 
ferent authors as generic placing of the Bulgarian sour milk species. 



CHEDDAR CHEESE RIPENING 



253 



flora of the cheese in the early stages of ripening. In the 
course of a few weeks, however, this group is largely 
replaced by the B. casei group.^ 

TABLE XVI 

Showing the Number of Bacteria to a Gram in Cheddar 
Cheese as Determined by Lactose-Agar Plate Cul- 
tures 



Time of 
Plating 


Cheese Number 


680 


581 


682 


683 


Milk . . 


8,000,000 


500,000 


700,000 


500,000 


Curd at 
salting 
time . 


160,000,000 


326,000,000 


912,000,000 


839,000,000 


12 hours 


332,000,000 


1,048,000,000 


623,000,000 


965,000,000 


1 day 


586,000,000 


736,000,000 


709,000,000 


569,000,000 


2 days . 


235,000,000 


405,000,000 


848,000,000 


580,000,000 


4 days 


145,000,000 


684,000,000 


522,000,000 


1,025,000,000 


6 days . 


165,000,000 


184,000,000 


853,000,000 


184,000,000 


14 days . 


51,000,000 


211,000,000 


369,000,000 


401,000,000 


21 days . 


284,000,000 


290,000,000 


348,000,000 


319,000,000 


28 days . 


285,000,000 


453,000,000 


314,000,000 


144,000,000 


35 days . 


104,000,000 


261,000,000 


326,000,000 


504,000,000 


49 days . 


132,000,000 


228,000,000 


436,000,000 


661,000,000 


70 days . 


128,000,000 


291,000,000 


193,000,000 


168,000,000 


98 days . 


114,000,000 


212,000,000 


45,000,000 


55,000,000 



From Wis. Bui. 150. 

1 Hastings, E. G., Alice C. Evans and E. B. Hart, The bac- 
teriology of Cheddar cheese. Wis. Exp. Sta. Bui. 150, pages 1-52, 
1912. 



254 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

The large number of bacteria in the cheese is very 
striking. The number as given in the accompanying table 
is not that actually in the cheese, as it is very difficult to 
obtain the sample in suitable condition for plating.^ 

The principal action of the lactic acid-forming bacteria 
in the cheese ripening is the changing of the milk-sugar 
or lactose into lactic acid and the formation of small 
amounts of other substances, such as acetic, succinic 
and formic acids, alcohol, aldehydes and esters and some 
gases, carbon dioxide and hydrogen. While the amount 
of these substances other than lactic acid is small, it is 
thought that the effect of these on the cheese may be im- 
portant. Heinemann shows - that lactic acid exists in 
two optical modifications, the levorotatory and dextroro- 
tary acids. In cheese they are usually found in the inac- 
tive or racemic form, the levorotatory and dextrorotary 
acids being present in equal amounts. What impor- 
tance the question of optical activity of the lactic acid 
may assume is not definitely known. Just as some groups 
of bacteria have a specific effect on the lactose, producing 
only one modification of lactic acid, so bacteria attacking 
lactic acid may exercise a selective action and use only 
one or the other optically active modification. In other 
words, the early fiora of cheese-ripening bacteria may 
determine the later flora by the production of a form of 
lactic acid attacked by one group of bacteria and not by 
another, and the effect on the flavor will differ accordingly. 
The amount of lactic acid in the cheese increases for a 
time, then decreases. 

' Harding, H. A., The role of the lactic acid bacteria in the 
manufacture and in the early stages of ripening of Cheddar 
cheese, N. Y. (Geneva) Exp. Sta. Bui. 237, 1903. 

2 Heinemann, P. G., The kinds of lactic acid produced by 
lactic acid bacteria, Jour. Biol. Chem., Vol. 2, pages 603-608. 



CHEDDAR CHEESE RIPENING 255 

The errors in determining lactic acid are considerable. 
It seems that the tendency is toward an increase of lactic 
acid in the cheese long after the lactose has disappeared. 
Two explanations are offered : one, that in the lactic acid 
fermentation an intermediate compound or compounds are 
formed which exist for some time, the conversion into 
lactic acid being complete at about three months; the 
other is that lactic acid is formed as a product of para- 
casein proteolysis. 

The lactic acid formed in cheese ripening does not 
exist in a free state but reacts with the calcium salts 
in the cheese and forms calcium lactates. It is thought 
that there is sufficient of these salts to neutralize all the 
acid formed, and therefore the acid does not enter into 
combination with the paracasein salts. It has been 
found that lactates are the principal source of acetic and 
propionic acids. These are supposed to have some effect 
on the flavor of the cheese. 

The effect of lactic acid as a determinant of bacterial 
and enzymic changes is very important. Early in the 
ripening process, lactic acid suppresses the growth of un- 
desirable micro-organisms. It also furnishes the acid 
medium necessary for the best action of both the coagulat- 
ing and peptic enzymes. 

The importance of the lactic acid bacteria in cheese 
ripening has been summed up by Hastings ^ as follows : 
" The functions of this group of bacteria in Cheddar cheese 
are through their by-product lactic acid as follows : (a) 
To favor the curdling of milk by rennet, (h) The bacteria 
of the milk are held in great part in the curd. Through 
the acid they influence the shrinkage of the curd and 

1 Hastings, E. G., et al., The bacteriology of Cheddar cheese, 
U. S. Dept. Agr. Bur. An. Ind. Bui. 150, 1912. 



256 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

expulsion of the whey, (c) The acid so changes the nature 
of the curd as to cause ' matting,' or ' cheddaring ' 
of the curd, (d) The acid activates the pepsin of the 
rennet extract, (e) The acid prevents the growth of 
putrefactive bacteria in the cheese. (/) It has been shown 
that Bacterium lactis acidi is able to form acid in the ab- 
sence of the living cell, (g) The development of Bacterium 
lactis acidi is followed by the growth of another group of 
acid-forming bacteria, the Bacillus Bulgaricus group. 
They reach numbers comparable with those of the first 
group, reaching their maximum number within the first 
month of ripening. Since they develop after the fermenta- 
tion of the milk-sugar, they must have some other source 
of carbon and of energy than milk-sugar." It is also prob- 
able that other groups constantly present contribute to 
the changes. 

From the preceding discussion it is evident that each 
of the ripening agents has its important part to play in 
the ripening process and a normal ripening of the cheese 
is a composite result of these various agencies. 

239. Conditions affecting the rate of cheese ripening. 
— The rate at which these agents cause ripening of the 
cheese depends on several factors.^ Most of these factors 
are within the control of man. They are as follows : the 
length of time ; temperature of the curing-room ; moisture- 
content of the cheese ; size of the cheese ; the quantity of 
salt used ; the amount of rennet ; the influence of acid. 

240. The length of time. —The water-soluble nitro- 
gen compounds increase as the cheese ages, other 
conditions being uniform. The rate of increase is not 

1 Van Slyke, L. L., and E. B. Hart, Conditions affecting 
chemical changes in cheese ripening, N. Y, (Geneva) Exp. Sta. 
Bui. 236, 1903. 



CHEDDAR CHEESE RIPENING 257 

uniform; it is much more rapid in the early than in 
the succeeding stages of ripening. 

241. The temperature of the curing-room. — Very few 
cheese factories have made any provision for regulat- 
ing the temperature of the curing-room. Without such 
provision the temperature follows closely that of the out- 
side air. In some cases the curing-room is located over 
the boiler-room and hence becomes very hot. In the 
cheese warehouses, provision has been made to control 
the temperature very closely. Experiments show that 
the soluble nitrogen compounds increase, on the average, 
closely in proportion to an increase of temperature, when 
the other conditions are uniform. 

The temperature of the curing-room has a material 
effect on the quality of the cheese. Cheese made from the 
same day's milk, and part cured at 40° F., part at 50° F., 
part at 60° F. show considerable differences, the great- 
est seeming to be in the flavor and texture. Those kept 
at the low temperature cure more slowly and develop a 
mflder flavor, those at the higher temperature cure faster 
and develop undesirable flavors. At the higher tempera- 
ture the undesirable organisms seem to be more active. 
Some very skillful makers and judges of cheese have 
always contended that if Cheddar is properly made, 
firmed to the body and texture of a high-class cheese, ripen- 
ing at 55 to 60° F. gives a higher quality. Such a cheese 
must be low in moisture, perhaps 3 to 5 per cent lower 
than one cured successfully by the cold process. 

The following tables ^ XVII, XVIII show the effect 
of different temperatures of curing cheese on the total 
score and on the points of the flavor, body and texture : 

^ Van Slyke, L. L., et al.. Cheese ripening at low tempera- 
tures, N. Y. (Geneva) Exp. Sta. Bui. 234, 1903. 



258 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



TABLE XVII 

Table Showing the Relation of Temperature of Curing 
TO Total Score 



Temperature of Curing 



40° 
50° 
60° 



Total Score 



95.7 
94.2 
91.7 



TABLE XVIII 

Table Showing the Relation of Temperature of Curing 
to Score of Body and Texture, and Flavor 



Temperature op Curing 


40° F. 


50° F. 


60° F. 


Body and texture . 
Flavor 


23.4 
47.4 


32.0 
46.4 


22.2 

44.8 



Of the three temperatures of curing, the lowest gave 
a higher total score and a higher score for flavor, body 
and texture. 

The curing temperature should not go low enough to 
freeze the cheese, as this lowers the quality. The cheese 
will cure very slowly and have a mealy texture. 

242. Moisture-content of the cheese. — Other condi- 
tions being equal, there is a larger amount of water- 
soluble nitrogen compounds in cheese containing more 
moisture than in that containing less moisture. There- 
fore, a high moisture-content of the cheese causes it to 
cure faster. The presence of moisture also serves to 
dilute the fermentation products which otherwise would 
accumulate and thus check the action of the ripening 
agents. 



CHEDDAR CHEESE RIPENING 259 

243. The size of the cheese. — Cheeses of large size 
usually cure faster than smaller ones, under the same 
conditions. This is due to the fact that the large cheeses 
lose their moisture less rapidly by evaporation and there- 
fore after the early period of ripening have a higher water- 
content. 

244. The amount of salt. — The relation of salt 
to the rate of ripening is more or less directly associated 
with the moisture-content of the cheese, since an in- 
crease in the amount of salt decreases the moisture. 
Thus, cheese containing more salt forms water-soluble 
nitrogen compounds more slowly than that containing 
less salt. The salt also has a direct effect in retarding 
one or more of the ripening agents. 

245. The amount of rennet extract. — The use of in- 
creased amounts of rennet extract in cheese-making, 
other conditions being uniform, results in the production 
of increased quantities of soluble nitrogen compounds 
in a given period of time, especially such compounds as 
paranuclein, caseoses and peptones. 

246. The influence of acid. — It is necessary that 
acid be present but the exact relation of varying quanti- 
ties of acid to the chemical changes of the ripening pro- 
cess is not fully known. If too much acid is present, it 
imparts a sour taste to the cheese. It also causes the 
texture of the cheese to be mealy or sandy instead of 
smooth and waxy. 

Conditions that may increase the rate of ripening : 

1. Increase of temperature. 

2. Larger amounts of rennet. 

3. More moisture in the cheese. 

4. Less salt. 



260 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

5. Large size of the cheese. 

6. Moderate amount of acid. 

Conditions that may retard ripening ; 

1. Decrease of temperature. 

2. Smaller amounts of rennet. 

3. Less moisture in the cheese. 

4. More salt. 

5. Small size of the cheese. 

6. No acid or an excess of acid. 

247. Care of the cheese in the curing-room. — The 
cheeses need daily attention while in the curing-room 
(Fig. 53). They should be turned e^'ery day to prevent 
sticking and molding to the shelf and to secure an even 
evaporation of moisture. If not turned, the moisture 
will not evaporate evenly from all surfaces and will result 
in an uneven distribution in the cheese, which causes 
uneven curing, and usually gives the product an uneven 
color. 

The surface of the cheese should be watched to see that 
the cloths stick. If they do not, the surface will crack, 
due to the exaporation of the moisture. If the cloths 
are loosened, they should be removed and the surface 
of the cheese greased with butter. The grease will tend 
to prevent the rind from cracking. If the surface of the 
cheese is not smooth, due to wrinkles in the bandage, 
or if it cracks, due to the lack of cloths, it furnishes the 
opportunity for insects to lay their eggs and the larvae 
to develop within the cheese. Molds also lodge and 
grow in such cracks. 

The cheese should be kept clean while in the curing- 
room. This means that the hands of the person handling 
the cheese must be clean. The shelves should be washed 



CHEDDAR CHEESE RIPENING 



261 




262 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

with good cleaning solution and scalded with hot water 
whenever they become greasy or moldy. 

Some means should be provided for regulating the 
temperature and humidity of the curing-room. In most 
factories this is accomplished by opening the doors and 
windows at night to admit the cool air and closing 
them in the morning to keep out the hot air. Care 
should be taken to keep the doors and windows closely 
secured. The windows should have shades to keep out 
the sun. If the room becomes too dry, the floor may be 
dampened with cold water. 

The length of time in the curing-room depends on how 
often shipment is made to some central warehouse or to 
the market. This usually \aries from two to six weeks. 

When the surface of the cheese becomes dry and the 
rind is well formed, the cheese may be paraffined. It 
usually requires four to six days after cheeses are taken 
from the hoop before they are ready for this process. 
The object of paraffining is to prevent the escape of mois- 
ture and to keep the cheese from molding. 

248. Evaporation of moisture from the cheese during 
ripening. — The losses due to evaporation while the 
cheeses are curing are a considerable item. The rate of 
evaporation depends on the temperature and humidity 
of the curing-room, the size of the cheese, the moisture- 
content and protection to the surface. 

Table XIX ^ shows the effect of size of cheese and 
temperature of the curing-room, on losses while curing. 
This table shows that the evaporation of moisture is 
more as the size of the cheese decreases and the tempera- 
ture is increased. This is probably due to the fact that 

^ Van Slyke, L. L., et a!., Cheese ripening at low temperatures, 
N. Y. (Geneva) Exp. Sta. Bui. 234, 1903. 



CHEDDAR CHEESE RIPENING 



263 



the smaller cheese has more surface to a pound than a 
large cheese. The evaporation increases with tempera- 
ture, probably because of lowered relative humidity. The 
humidity can be tested with an hygrometer. 



TABLE XIX 

Showing the Variation of Losses in Weight of Cheddar 
Cheese while Curing, Due to Size of Cheese and Tem- 
perature OP Curing-Room 



Weight op Cheese 
IN Pounds 


Weight Lost per 100 Pounds of Cheese in 20 
Weeks at 




40° F. 


50° F. 


60° F. 


70 
45 
35 


2.5 
2.7 
3.9 

4.6 


2.4 
3.7 
5.9 

8.1 


4.2 

5.1 

8.5 

12.0 



The higher the moisture-content of the cheese, usually 
the more rapid is the evaporation. This is due to several 
causes : there is more moisture to evaporate ; the mois- 
ture is not so well incorporated ; a moist cheese does not 
form so good a rind. 

249. Paraffining ^ consists of dipping the cheese in 
melted paraffin at a temperature of about 220° F. for 
six seconds. Fig. 54 shows an apparatus for paraffining. 
This leaves a very thin coat of paraffin on the cheese ; 
at a lower temperature, a thicker coat would be left. 
The thicker coating is more liable to crack and peel off. 
If the cheese is not perfectly dry before it is treated, 
the paraffin will blister and crack off. 

^ Doane, C. F., Methods and results of paraffining cheese, 
U. S. Dept. Agr. Bur. An. Ind. Circ. 181, pages 1-16, 1911. 



264 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



Before a cheese is paraffined, the press cloth is removed 
and also the starched circles, if loose. After a cheese has 
been paraffined, if the coating is not broken, the loss 
due to evaporation is greatly reduced. The amount 
of paraffin to coat a 35-pound cheese will depend on the 
temperature of the paraffin and the length of time the cheese 
is immersed. Usually at 220° F. it requires about 0.15 

of a pound for each 35-pound 
cheese. After the cheeses have 
been paraffined, they may be 
left on the curing-room shelves 

I — g or boxed ready to ship. 
Ij^^^BiB^^BH 250. Shipping. — When ready 

to ship, each cheese should be 
carefully and accurately 
weighed and boxed. Usually 
these cheeses are boxed after 
being paraffined. If press 
cloths are left on the cheese in 
the curing-room, they should 
be removed just before weigh- 
ing. These cloths should not 
be left in a pile in the factory 
after being removed as they 
have been known to heat and sometimes cause fires. 
They should be washed clean and dried ready for use 
again. If starched circles are used, they should be left 
on the cheese. A scale board should be placed on each 
end of the cheese to prevent its sticking to the box and 
also to keep the box from wearing the surface of the cheese. 
The box should be a trifle larger in diameter than the 
cheese so that the latter can be easily placed in it. The 
sides of the box should be the same height as the cheese. 




Fig. 54. — A parafSner for 
cheese. 



CHEDDAR CHEESE RIPENING 265 

The weight of each cheese should be neatly and accu- 
rately marked on each box. Care should be exercised to 
keep the boxes clean. 

DEFECTS IN CHEDDAR CHEESE 

A great number of defects may occur in Cheddar 
cheese. Certain of these are due to known causes and 
proper remedies are definable, while neither cause nor 
remedy has been found for other defects. Some of the 
common defects and their causes and remedies are 
discussed under different headings of the score-card as : 
defects in flavor, their causes and remedies; defects in 
body and texture, their causes and remedies; defects in 
color, their causes and remedies ; defects in finish and 
their causes and remedies. 

251. Defects in flavor. — Any flavor differing from the 
characteristic Cheddar cheese is a defect. Certain of 
these defective flavors can be recognized and causes 
and remedies given for them, while others may be distin- 
guished as such but no cause or remedy can be given. 

252. Feedy flavors. — Flavors may be characteristic 
of certain feeding stuffs. Feeding strong-flavored foods, 
such as turnips, cabbage, decayed silage, certain weeds 
and sometimes rank green feed, give their peculiar flavors 
to both milk and cheese. Freshly drawn milk usually 
absorbs these odors from the air in barns filled with such 
foods. Certain of these materials may be fed just after 
milking in moderate amounts without affecting the milk 
drawn at the next milking. Others should not be used. 
Milk should not be exposed to strong volatile odors. 
Some of the objectionable odors may be removed by 
airing the curd for a longer time after milling before 
the salt is applied. 



266 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

253. Acid flavors. — A cheese with an acid flavor has 
a pronounced sour smell and taste. This is caused by 
the over-development of acid which may be due to any 
of the following causes : (a) receiving milk at the factory 
which is sour or has too high development of acid ; (b) 
using too much starter; (c) ripening the milk too much 
before adding rennet ; (d) not firming the curd sufficiently 
in the whey before removing the latter ; (e) developing 
too much acid in the whey before it is removed ; (/) re- 
taining too much moisture in the curd. 

The trouble can be reduced or eliminated by one 
or more of the following precautions : (a) receiving 
only clean, sweet milk at the cheese factory; (b) main- 
taining the proper relation between the moisture and 
acidity ; (c) adding the rennet at the proper acidity ; 
(d) using less starter ; (e) adding the rennet extract so 
that there will be sufficient time to firm the curd before 
the acid has developed to such a stage that it will be 
necessary to draw the whey ; (/) producing the proper 
final water-content in the newly made cheese. 

254. Sweet or fruity flavors. — These are the sweet 
flavors characteristic of strawberry, raspberry and the 
like. Such flavors are very objectionable and usually 
increase with the age of the cheese. The\- appear to 
be caused by : (a) carrying both milk and whey in the 
same cans without properly cleaning them ; (6) expos- 
ing milk near hog-pens where whey is fed ; (c) dirty 
whey tanks at the cheese factory; (d) micro-organisms 
which get into the milk through any unclean conditions. 

These troubles can be controlled : (a) if milk and whey 
must be carried in the same cans, the cans should be 
emptied immediately on arrival at the farm and thor- 
oughly washed and scalded; (6) the whey vat at the 



CHEDDAR CHEESE RIPENING 267 

factory should be kept clean and sweet ; (c) the starter 
must have the proper clean flavor. 

Other defects may be classed as " ofl^ flavors," " dirty 
flavors," " bitter flavors " and the like. These are un- 
doubtedly due to unsanitary conditions whereby undesir- 
able organisms get into the milk, even though the particular 
organism is often not determined. The flavors may be 
improved by the use of a clean-flavored commercial starter 
and by airing the curd after milling before salting. The 
best remedy is to remove the source of the difficulty. 

255. Defects in body and texture. — The body and 
texture should be close. A sample rubbed between the 
thumb and fingers should be smooth and waxy. Any 
condition which causes a body and texture other than this 
is to be avoided. 

256. Loose or open texture. — A cheese with this 
defect is full of irregularly shaped holes and usually soft or 
weak-bodied. This is serious if the cheese is to be held 
for some time. Moisture and fat are likely to collect in 
these holes and cause the cheese to deteriorate, thereby 
shortening its commercial life. 

Several causes may bring about this condition : (a) 
insufficient cheddaring ; (b) pressing at too high a temper- 
ature ; (c) inadequate pressing ; (d) development of too 
little acid. 

The corresponding remedies are : (a) cheddar the curd 
until the holes are closed and the curd is solid ; (b) cool 
the curd to 80° F. before putting to press ; (c) press the 
curd longer, possibly twenty-four to twenty-six hours ; 
(d) develop a little higher acid in the whey before re- 
moving the curd. 

257. Dry body. — A cheese with this defect is usually 
firm, hard and dry, sometimes rubbery or corky. This 



268 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

may result from lack of moisture, fat or both, and may be 
due to the following causes : (a) making the cheese from 
partly skimmed-milk ; (b) heating the curd in the whey 
for too long a time ; (c) heating the curd too high ; (d) 
stirring the curd too much in the whey or as the last of 
the whey is removed ; (e) using too much salt ; (J) develop- 
ing of too much acid in the whey ; (g) curing the cheese 
in too hot or too dry a curing-room ; (h) not piling the 
curd high or fast enough in the cheddaring process. 

The cause should be located and the corresponding 
remedy found, as follows : (a) make cheese only from 
whole milk ; (h) draw the whey sooner ; (c) firm the curd 
at as low temperature as possible in the whey ; (d) stir 
the curd in the whey only enough to keep the curd par- 
ticles separated but do not hand-stir it ; (e) use less salt ; 
(/) develop less acid in the whey ; (g) cure the cheese in 
a cool moist ctiring-room ; (h) pile the curd sooner and 
higher during the cheddaring process. 

The number of cj^uses which may singly or in combina- 
tion produce dry cheese demands experience and technical 
skill that calls for the development of a high degree of 
judgment. 

258. Gassy textured cheese. — Gassy cheese has large 
numbers of very small round or slightly flattened holes. 
When round these are called " pin-holes," and when 
slightly flattened " fish eye " openings. These are due 
to the formation of gas by the micro-organisms in the 
cheese. When a cheese is gassy, it usually puffs up 
from gas pressure as in the rising of bread. If enough 
gas is formed, it will cause the cheese to break or crack 
open. Instead of being flat on the ends, such a cheese 
becomes so nearly spherical as to roll from the shelf 
at times. 



CHEDDAR CHEESE RIPENING 26.9 

The gas-producing organisms enter because of unclean 
conditions somewhere in the handhng of the milk and 
the making of the cheese. Some of the common sources 
of gas organisms are: (a) unclean milkers; (6) dirty 
cows ; (c) aerating the milk in impure air, especially air 
from hog-pens where the whey is fed ; (d) allowing the 
cows to wade in stagnant water or in mud or in filthy 
barnyards and then not thoroughly cleaning the cows 
before milking; (e) exposing the milk to the dust from 
hay and feed ; (/) dirty whey tanks ; (g) drawing milk 
and whey in the same cans without afterward thoroughly 
washing them ; (h) unclean utensils in the factory ; 
(i) using gassy starter; (j) ripening cheese at high 
temperatures. 

Some of these causes are within the control of the 
cheese-maker after the making process is begun. Many 
of them are avoided only by eternal vigilance. Among 
the recommendations for meeting gassy curd are the 
following: use only milk produced under clean sanitary 
conditions ; use a clean commercial starter. 

If gas is suspected in the milk, a larger percentage 
of commercial starter should be used. More acid must 
be developed before the whey is removed. If the gas 
shows while cheddaring, the curd should be piled and 
replied until the holes -flatten out before milling. 

The curd should be kept warm during the piling or 
cheddaring process. This may be accomplished by cover- 
ing the vat and setting a pail or two of hot water in it. 
After milling, the curd should be stirred and aired for a 
considerable length of time before salting. This will 
aerate the curd and allow it to cool. The cheese should 
then be placed in a cool curing-room. (See handling of 
gassy milk.) 



270 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

259. Acidy, pasty or soft body and texture. — A 

cheese with acidy body may be either hard and dry 
or soft and moist. It has a mealy or sandy feeHng 
when rubbed between the fingers. The causes and 
remedies are the same as for cheeses with acid flavors. 
When rubbed between the fingers, it is pasty and sticks 
to the fingers. It is caused by the cheese containing 
too much water. (See control of moisture.) 

260. Defects in color. — Any color which is not uni- 
form is a defect. The proper color depends on the market 
requirement. Some markets prefer a white and others 
a yellow cheese ; however, if the color is uniform, it is 
not defective. 

Mottled color is a spotted or variegated marking of the 
cheese. Several causes may give the same general effect : 
(a) uneven distribution of moisture, the curd having extra 
moisture being lighter in color ; (6) neglecting to strain 
the starter ; (c) adding the starter after the cheese color 
has been added ; (d) mixing the curd from different vats. 

Remedies for this mottled color are : (a) to maintain a 
uniform assimilation of moisture (see discussion of mois- 
ture) ; (b) to strain the starter to break up the lumps be- 
fore adding to the milk ; (c) to add all of the starter be- 
fore adding the cheese color ; (d) not to mix curds from 
different vats. 

Seamy color. — In " seamy " colored cheese, the out- 
line of each piece of curd may be seen. There is usually 
a line where the surfaces of the curd come together. It 
may be caused by the pieces of curd becoming greasy 
or so cold that they will not cement. This may be 
remedied by having the curd at a temperature of 80° 
to 85° F. when put to press. If it is greasy, this may 
be removed by washing the curd in cold water. 



CHEDDAR CHEESE RIPENING 271 

Acid color. — This is a bleached or faded color and is 
caused by the development of too much acid. (See acid 
flavor for causes and remedies, page 266.) 

261. Defects in finish. — Defects of this class differ 
from those previously mentioned in being entirely 
within the control of the cheese-maker. All are due to 
carelessness or lack of skill in manipulation. Anything 
which detracts from the neat, clean, workmanlike appear- 
ance of the cheese is a defect that may interfere with the 
sale of an article intrinsically good. Some of the common 
defects are : (a) unclean surfaces or dirty cheese ; (6) cracked 
rinds ; (c) moldy surfaces ; (d) uneven sizes ; (e) cracked 
cheese ; (/) wrinkled bandages ; (g) uneven edges. 

CHEDDAR CHEESE JUDGING 

Judging of cheese is the comparison of the qualities of 
one product with those of another. To make this easier 
it is customary to reduce the qualities of the cheese to a 
numerical basis. This is accomplished by the use of a 
score-card, which recognizes certain qualities and gives 
to each a numerical value. Each of these score-cards 
gives a perfect cheese a numerical score of 100. Two 
score-cards are used to judge cheese, one for export and 
the other for home-trade product. The latter is more 
commonly used. 



Export Scobe-card 


Home-trade Score-card 


Flavor 45 

Body and texture . . 30 

Color 15 

Finish 10 


Flavor 50 

Body and texture ... 25 

Color 15 

Finish 10 


Total 100 


Total 100 



The same qualities are recognized in each score-card, 
but different numerical values are given them. 




272 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

262. Securing the sample. — The sample of cheese to 
be examined is best obtained by means of a cheese-trier 
(Fig. 55). This is a piece of steel about five or six inches 
long fitted with a suitable handle. It is semicircular 
in shape, about | to f of an inch in diameter. The 

edges and end 

__=,__.__ ^^^ sharpened 

^^^ ^7*"" ^^**" 7 to aid in cut- 

ting. This is 

Fig. 55. - A cheosc-trier. inserted into 

the cheese and turned around and then drawn out. It 
removes a long cylinder of cheese, commonly called 
a " phig." This plug should be draw^n from the top 
rather than from the side of the cheese, because when 
the bandage is cut it often splits, due to the pressure 
against it and so exposes the cheese. 

263. How to determine quality. — As soon as the plug 
has been removed, it should be passed quickly under 
the nose to detect any volatile odors which are liable 
to leave the cheese quickly. Next, the compactness of 
the plug should be noticed and the color carefully ex- 
amined. Then the outer end of the plug should be 
broken off and placed back in the cheese in the hole 
made by the trier. It should be about an inch long and 
pushed in so that the surface of the cheese is smooth. 
This prevents mold and insects entering the cheese. 
Usually the cheese will mold after a short time where 
the plug has been removed. The remainiler of the plug 
should be saved for determining the flavor and the body 
and texture. 

The flavor can be determined by the first odor obtained 
from the cheese on the trier and by mixing or crushing a 
piece of the plug between the thumb and fore-finger and 



CHEDDAR CHEESE RIPENING 273 

then noting the odor. Mixing and thoroughly warming 
causes the odor to be much more pronounced. The 
cheese should seldom be tasted to determine the flavor, 
for when many are to be judged, they all taste alike 
after the first five or six. This is probably due to the 
cheese adhering to the teeth, tongue and other parts of 
the mouth, making it difficult to cleanse the mouth 
sufficiently. The body and texture can be determined 
by the appearance and the feeling of the cheese when 
rubbed between the thumb and fingers. The body 
and texture are distinct, yet they are more or less inter- 
changed. The body refers to the cheese as a whole and 
the texture to the arrangement of the parts of the whole. 
The openness of texture or the holes can be noted when 
the plug is first removed. The firmness of body and 
smoothness of texture can be determined when the 
cheese is rubbed between the thumb and fingers. The 
color can be judged when the plug is first removed. 
The finish or appearance may be noted either before 
or after the other qualities by carefully examining the 
cheese. 

Cheddar cheese should have a neat, clean, attractive 
appearance; when cut it should show a close, solid, uni- 
formly colored interior. It should have a clear, pleasant, 
mild aroma and a nutty flavor. It should possess a 
mellow, silky, meaty texture and when rubbed between 
the thumb and fore-finger should be smooth and free from 
hard particles. 

264. Causes of variations in score. — It is very seldom, 
if ever, that a cheese is given a perfect score, for it usually 
has one or more defects which may be hardly noticeable 
or very pronounced. The seriousness of the defect is de- 
termined by the individual tastes of the judges and the 



274 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



Sample.. 



CHEESE SCORE-CARD 
Date.... 



SCORE 



REMARKS 





50 

25 
15 
10 




Body and 




Color 












Total 


100 









Recommendations., 



Name of Judge.. 



SUGGESTIVE TERMS 



Clean 



FLAVOR 

Desirable 
Pleasant Aroma Nutty Flavor 



l/ndesirable 

Due to Farm Conditions 

Weedy Feedy Cowy Old Milk Bitter 

Due to Factory Conditions 

Too much acid Too little acid 

Due to either Farm or Factory Conditions 

Yeasty Fruity Fishy Rancid 

Sour Bitter Sweet Tainted 

BODY AND TEXTURE 

Desirable 

Smooth Waxy Silky Close 

Undesirable 

Pasty Greasy Curdy Mealy Lumpy 

Corky Loose Gassy Yeasty 

Acidy Sweet Watery Too dry 



COLOR 

Desirable 



Uniform 

Undesirable 

Streaked Mottled Acid cut 

White specks Wavy Too high 

Seamy Rust spots Too light 

FINISH 

Desirable 
Clean surfaces Neat bandage Attractive 

Undesirable 
Wrinkled bandage Greasy 

Unclean surfaces No end caps 

Cracked rinds Uneven edges 

Undesirable size 



CHEDDAR CHEESE RIPENING 275 

market requirements. It is customary for the judge to 
pick out several samples and score them in order to 
fix the standard and if there are several judges this serves 
to unify their standard. Ordinarily judges will vary 
because of their individual tastes, unless they begin with 
a uniform standard. 

Certain markets require cheese with given qualities 
which on other markets would be considered defects. 
For example, the Boston market requires a very soft, 
pasty cheese which other markets would consider un- 
desirable. 

The cheese is constantly undergoing changes due to the 
ripening agents so that it may not always be scored the 
same. For example, a cheese may have little or no flavor 
and after several weeks a very considerable flavor may 
have developed. This is probably due to the action of 
the ripening agents, and therefore the second time it 
would be scored differently. 

265. The score-card. — ■ When judging several samples 
of cheese, the type of score-card on the opposite page is 
used for each one. 

This gives the date of judging and the sample number, 
the judge's name and reasons for cutting the score and 
recommendations to avoid these troubles. 



CHAPTER XV 

THE SWISS AND ITALIAN GROUPS 

Certain varieties of hard cheese of foreign origin are 
now made to some extent in this country. If not 
manufactured in sufficient quantities to supply the 
demand, the remainder is imported. These hard cheeses 
are now considered. 

SWISS CHEESE 

Swiss cheese, variously known as Gruyere, Emmenthal, 
Schweitzer and Swiss, had its origin in the Alpine cantons 
of Switzerland. From this region its manufacture has 
been carried by Swiss dairy-men and emigrant farmers 
into widely separate lands. The Swiss colonies settled 
in the United States in the Mohawk Valley and in Catta- 
raugus County, New York; in Wayne, Stark, Summit, 
Columbiana and Tuscarawas counties of Ohio, and in 
Green and Dodge counties in Wisconsin. Of all these, 
the Wisconsin colonies have become the most extensive. 
Similar colonies have developed the making of this type 
of cheese in Sweden and Finland. 

266. The Swiss factory. — Swiss cheese cannot be 
made in a vat like other t^'pes for reasons that will be 
explained later. In place of the vat is used a kettle, 
generally of copper, and it may or may not be jacketed 
for steam or for hot water (Fig. 50). These kettles vary 
in capacity from GOO to 3000 pounds of milk. The cheese- 

276 



THE SWISS AND ITALIAN GROUPS 



277 




Fig. 56. — Swiss-cheese kettle. 



maker takes the best care possible of his kettle, for an 
unclean utensil is one of the easiest sources of contamina- 
tion of the milk. When the kettle is not jacketed, and 
it is only in recent years that this has been done, it is 
suspended in a fireplace by 
means of a crane arrange- 
ment. 

This fireplace uses wood, 
and is built of brick or stone, 
so that the kettle rests on the 
edge and is provided with a 
door which swings upon 
another crane, and can be 
closed while the fire is going. 
When the kettle is swung on 
a crane, it is possible to 
swing it under the weigh-stand for filling. This requires 
a lid to swing down over the fire, and keep the room 
free from smoke. The chimney generally has a rather 
high stack to secure a good draft. This kettle is 
fastened to the crane by a large iron band passing around 
the neck, to which a bail or handle is attached. The 
kettle may be raised or lowered by means of a simple 
screw on this beam. The crane consists of a heavy beam 
working in sockets in the floor and a beam or cross brace, 
which has another and shorter beam braced to it, to take 
the weight of the kettle. 

The weigh-stand, and its efficient location, is a matter 
of extreme importance. It is elevated a little above 
the remainder of the floor to allow gravity to do the 
work. The next most important equipment is the 
press and draining table. The table is made of wood or 
stone, and has a slight slope to allow the whey to drain 



278 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

off. The press is generally a jack screw which, braced 
against a beam, will exert an enormous pressure on the 
table below. 

Swiss cheeses are made in two styles, the " round " 
or drum and the " block " or rectangular forms, each of 
which has its advantages. For the round style, which 
is most commonly made, the forms for hooping are of 
metal or of elm wood, and consist of strips of a given 
width, generally six inches, but of an undetermined length. 
These strips are then made into a circle and held by a 
cord, which is easily lengthened or shortened, thus vary- 
ing the diameter of the hoop. 

Besides these hoops, cheese boards or followers are 
needed. These are hea^'y circular boards, of a size to 
fit that of the cheese generally made, and are banded with 
iron around the edge and cross-braced on the bottom 
for rigidity. The small tools of the factory consist of 
knives to cut the curd, and of a " Swiss harp " or other 
similar tool to stir the curd. JNIany clean bandages are 
also needed, and a kettle brake. 

267. The milk. — Swiss cheese requires clean sweet 
milk. Dirt, high acid and infections with undesirable 
bacteria involve difficulties of manufacture and frequent 
losses of cheese. One common practice rejects milk if 
it shows acidity above 0.15 per cent. To secure milk 
in this condition, factories are small and located so close 
to the producing farms as to secure 1000 to 3000 pounds 
of milk delivered warm from the cow twuce a day. The 
cheese is made twice daily from this fresh milk. If, 
however, milk is properly cared for, it is possible to mix 
night's and morning's milk without bad results. In fact, 
in working experimentally with high grade milk and 
taking precautions against loss of fat, it has been 



THE SWISS AND ITALIAN GROUPS 279 

necessary to skim (separate) part of the milk, thus re- 
ducing the ratio of fat to casein. Analysis of good Swiss 
cheeses shows that the desired texture is more uniformly 
obtained with milk in which the fat is less than the normal 
ratio. This assumes that the manufacturing loss is kept 
down so that the fat removed offsets the extra loss from 
curd-breaking. 

268. Rennet extract. — Most Swiss cheese-makers pre- 
fer to make their own rennet extract from the stomach. 
This results in a product which is not uniform in strength 
and so requires good judgment to secure the desired coagu- 
lation in the allotted time. Some cheese-makers roll 
fifteen to twenty well salted calves' stomachs together 
and dry them. From this they cut off a definite amount 
each day to be soaked for twenty-four hours in two to 
five quarts of whey at 86° F. Four quarts of this 
solution added to 2000 pounds of milk at 90° F. should 
produce a curd ready for cutting in twenty to thirty 
minutes. 

269. Starter. — Makers do not agree as to the use of 
" starters " for Swiss cheese. Those opposed to such 
use say that a starter will give the cheese a decided 
Cheddar flavor, while those in favor of it state that it 
will control undesirable fermentations, and that, with 
the use of a starter, it is possible to make Swiss cheese 
throughout the year, and have uniform success. 

Doane,^ working with Bacillus Bulgaricus as a starter, 
found that these starters did not always overcome the 
undesirable fermentations. If a cheese-maker is having 
difficulty to develop the holes or " eyes," this may be 

1 Doane, C. F., and E. E. Eldredge, The use of Bacillus Bul- 
garicus in starters for making Swiss or Emmenthal cheese, Dept 
of Agr. Bur. An. Ind. Bui. 148, 1915. 



280 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

overcome by making a starter ^ as follows from good 
cheese and whey or milk : Select a cheese which has the 
desirable " eyes " or holes and a good flavor. Grind up 
some of this and add about ^ of a pound to one gallon of 
milk or whey. Hold this for twenty-four hours at a warm 
temperature (85° to 90° F.). Strain it into the vat of 
milk just before the rennet is added. 

270. The making process. — The milk is delivered 
twice a day without cooling. It usually reaches the 
factory at a temperature of 92° to 96° F. It is strained 
into the kettle, and starter and rennet added at the same 
temperature as received. (For method of adding rennet, 
see Chapter V.) Enough rennet should be used to give 
a coagulation ready for cutting in twenty to thirty minutes. 
The firmness of the curd is tested by inserting the index 
finger in an oblique position, then raising it slightly and 
with the thumb of the same hand starting the curd to 
break or crack. When the curd is coagulated ready for 
cutting, it will give a clear break over the finger. 

It is important to keep the temperature uniform while 
coagulation is in process, and this is best accomplished 
by the use of a little pan arrangement which fits into 
the top of the kettle. When this is full of water at 100° 
F., the temperature of the air above the milk will be about 
90° F. When the curd is ready for cutting, a scoop 
may be used and the top layer carefully turned under to 
equalize the temperature more closely. 

Cutting the curd. — In some cheese factories, knives 
resembling Cheddar cheese knives are employed to cut 
the curd. In other factories, a " Swiss harp " is used 
to break the curd. The curd is usually cut or broken 

1 N. Y. Produce Rev. and Am. Creamery, Vol. 37, no. 25, 
page 1112, Starter for Swiss cheese. 



THE SWISS AND ITALIAN GROUPS 281 

into pieces about the size of kernels of corn. The 
practice of " breaking " curd instead of cutting it with 
sharp curd-knives produces excessive loss at times. 
Experimental study has shown that the loss of fat 
may be kept as low as 0.3 per cent if modern curd- 
knives are substituted for the breaking tool formerly 
used. Study of Swiss cheeses of all grades supports 
the opinion that the removal of a small part of fat 
from usual grades of factory milk produces a better 
quality of product than the use of rich whole milk. This 
may be accomplished through the escape of fat in the whey 
on account of breaking the curd and stirring it vigorously, 
or by skimming a part of the milk which is then curdled, 
cut and stirred under such conditions as to minimize 
the loss of fat. 

Cooking the curd. — After cutting, the curd is stirred 
in the whey for about twenty minutes before the steam 
is turned on and is then heated to 128° to 135° F. While 
this heating is in progress, constant stirring must be 
given to avoid matting. This excessive stirring breaks 
the curd up into pieces about the size of wheat kernels, 
and accounts for the large fat loss, which is one of the 
main sources of loss in making Swiss cheese. This stir- 
ring is accomplished by a rotary motion, and the use of 
a brake, which is a piece of wood closely fitting the side 
of the kettle. This creates an eddy in the current at that 
point and gives a more uniform distribution of tempera- 
ture. The process of cooking takes from thirty to forty 
minutes, and at the end of that time the degree of tough- 
ness may be determined by making a roll of curd 
in the hand, and noticing the break when it is given a 
quick flip. A short sharp break indicates the desired 
toughness. 



282 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

Draimng and hooping. — In this process, the cheese- 
makers' skill is displayed. With the hoop prepared, and 
the curd at the correct stage of toughness, the operator 
takes a press cloth, wets it in whey, slips it over a flexible 
iron ring which can be made to fit the shape of the kettle, 
gives the contents of the kettle a few swift revolutions, 
then suddenly reverses the motion, with the result that 
the contents form into a cone, and the ring and bandage 
are dexterously slipped under this cone, and drawn up to 
the surface of the whey with a rope or chain and pulley. 
This part of the process is the most important, as a cheese 
must have a smooth firm rind, else it will quickly crack. 
With too large a batch of milk, the curd can be cut into 
two pieces and hooped separately. With the mass of 
curd at the to]) of the whey, the i)ie('e of perforated iron 
plate just the size of the hoop is slipped under the mass, 
and attached to the pulley by four chains. Then the 
top of the mass is carefully leveled oft", because while still 
in the whey, it cannot mat badly and so tend to develop 
a rind crack. Now the mass is raised clear of the whey, 
and run along a short track to the drain table, where it is 
put in the press. 

Pressing. — The mass of curd is dropped into the 
hoop, the edges of the cloth carefully folded under, 
and the cloth laid on toj), then the pressure is ap- 
plied, gradually at first, but increasing until the final 
pressure is about fifteen to twenty pounds to a pound 
of cheese. 

During the first few hours the cloths must be changed 
frequently, and the cheese carefully turned over each 
time, to secure a more uniform rind. After a time the 
changes are less frequent, and at the end of twenty-four 
hours the cheese is taken to the salting-room. 



THE SWISS AND ITALIAN GROUPS 283 

Salting may be done by either the brine or dry method. 
To prepare a brine bath, add salt to a tank of water 
until it will float an egg, and add a pailful or more of salt 
every few days thereafter to keep up the strength. The 
cheese is then placed in this bath and left for three to five 
days, depending on the saltiness desired. As the cheese 
floats with a little of the rind above the surface, it should 
be turned a few times to insure uniformity of salting. 
With dry salting, the salt is rubbed on the cheese by hand 
or with a stiff brush, and any excess carefully wiped off, 
leaving only a slight sprinkle on the surface to work into 
the cheese. 

271. Curing Swiss. — From the salting-room, the cheese 
goes to the first one of two curing-rooms, where the unique 
process of the development of the characteristic eyes 
takes place. 

During the curing period of either round or block 
Swiss, constant attention must be paid to the cheese. 
They must be turned every day at first, and then every 
second or third day toward the end of the curing period. 
Also, great care must be taken that no mold starts 
growing, as it will soon work into the cheese, and 
spoil its flavor. The best way of preventing mold is 
by washing the cheese, in either clean or slightly salted 
water, as often as possible. A stiff brush is mostly 
used for this. 

The development of the " eyes " or holes is the diffi- 
cult part of the whole process. It is not known exactly 
what , causes the development, but it is attributed to 
micro-organisms or enzymes. The gas in these eyes has 
been examined and found to be carbon dioxide and free 
nitrogen. Sometimes hydrogen is found. This comes 
from the original fermentation of the milk-sugar and 



284 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

remains to contaminate the normal eye. The nitrogen ^ 
is inckided from the original air. Propionic acid is 
formed at the same time as the eyes, and they are 
said to be the result of a propionic ferment of lactic 
acid. The interior of the cheese is anaerobic, due to 
low permeability and high oxygen-absorbing quality. 
This propionic bacterium cannot, however, account for 
all the carbon dioxide produced. 

After the eyes have started, their further development 
depends on temperature and humidity of the air, and on 
the moisture of the cheese, as regulated by the amount 
of salt used. The first room has a temperature of 70° F. 
to start the eyes, which is later lowered in the second 
curing-room to about 60° to check the development. 
When any local fermentive action starts, it may be 
checked by rubbing salt on the affected part. The 
humidity of the room is very important, because a 
cheese will quickly dry out in a dry room, due to evap- 
oration from the surface. To prevent this, it is well 
to spray the floor with water, or to have a steam jet in 
the room. 

If the curd has been cooked too long the cheese may 
be too dry. Such cheeses may be piled two or more deep 

1 Clark, W. M., On the formation of "ej'es" in Emmenthal 
cheese, Jour. Dairy Sci. 1 (1917), no. 2, pages 91-113. 

Among important studies of Swiss cheese ripening are the 
foUowng : Freudenreieh, E. v., and Orla Jensen, Ueber die in 
Emmentalerkiise stattfindende Proprionsauregarung, Centralb. f . 
Bakt. etc. 2 Abt. 17. page 529. 

Jensen, Orla, Biologische Studien iiber den Kiisereifungs- 
prozess unter spezieller Berucksiehtigung der tliichtigen Fett- 
sauren, Centralb. f. Bakt. etc. 2 Abt. 13 (1904). page 161. 

Eldredge, E. E., and L. A. Rogers, The bacteriology of cheese 
of the Emmenthal type, Centralb. f. Bakt. 2 Abt. 40 (1914), no. 
1/8, pages 5-21. 



THE SWISS AND ITALIAN GROUPS 285 

in the ciiring-room. It is held by some cheese-makers 
that this process causes them to absorb more moisture. 
Probably this is due to the checking of evaporation. 

The development of the " eyes " may be watched by 
trying the following test : Place the middle finger on the 
cheese and let the first finger slip from it, striking the 
cheese smartly ; a dull sound indicates solidity, while a 
ring indicates a hole, and an expert maker can tell the 
size of the holes by the sound. This requires long 
practice for the operator to become proficient. 

After a cheese has remained in the first room for about 
two weeks and the holes are well started, it is removed 
to the second curing-room, which is held at a cooler 
temperature and slightly drier atmosphere. The cheeses 
are held in this room from three to ten months, depend- 
ing on market conditions, and capacity of the curing- 
rooms. In Switzerland, it is customary to hold cheese 
to secure a well ripened product, while in America most 
of the cheeses are shipped comparatively green, hence 
do not bring so high a price. 

272. Block Swiss. — In making block Swiss, the same 
procedure is followed through the cooking stage. Then 
the curd is pressed in a square form or in one large piece, 
each form six inches square on the ends and twenty inches 
long, and later cut into sections. These are then pressed, 
salted and cured in the same way as round forms. In 
this type of cheese there is a much smaller cross-section ; 
therefore the development of holes is much more easily 
controlled on account of the ease with which the salt 
can work into the cheese and control undesirable fer- 
ments. As it is easy to control, this variety is made in 
the fall and winter when the ferments are especially 
hard to keep in check. However, this cheese has the 



286 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

disadvantage of cutting eye-development short by the 
rapid entrance of salt. 

The curing consists of the developing of the flavor and 
eyes and the changing in body and texture. Just what 
causes these changes is not known. 

273. Shipment. — When ready for shipment, the drum 
cheeses of the same general diameter are sorted out and 
packed four to six in a cask. Care must be taken to put 
boards between them to prevent sticking. These are 
called scale-boards, and are made of thin sections of wood 
fiber. The cheeses are crowded into the cask to miake a 
snug fit, and the head carefully fastened. 

274. Qualities of Swiss cheese. — The peculiar Swiss 
cheese flavor may be characterized as a hazel-nut taste. 
It is a trifle sweet and very tempting. The " eyes " or 
holes should be about the size of a cherry with a dull 
shine to the inner lining. The " eyes " usually contain 
a small amount of a briny tasting liquid. These 
eyes should be unifornjy distril)uted. The color should 
be uniform. The cheese should have a neat, clean, 
attractive appearance, and the rind should not be 
cracked or broken. 

There are several common defects in Swiss cheese. 
If the milk is not clean-flavored, the cheese will have 
the same flavor as the milk. The greatest difficulty is 
to produce the eyes or holes. A cheese which does 
not have these is called " blind." A product which has 
many small pin-holes due to gassy fermentations is 
called a " niszler " ; this means a cheese with a thousand 
eyes. If gas forms in the cheese and causes cracks, it 
is called " glaesler." If the cheese contains too much 
moisture, it will be soft and pasty. Such a cheese does 
not readil;^' form eyes. 



THE SWISS AND ITALIAN GROUPS 287 

275. Composition and yield. — A large number of analy- 
ses of Swiss cheese have been made but there is wide 
variation. This is due to the fact that the composition 
and yield are both dependent on the following factors : 
composition of the milk, losses during manufacture, 
amount of moisture in the cheese. The losses in Swiss 
cheese are much larger than with some of the other hard 
cheeses, such as Cheddar. This is because more fat is 
lost in the whey, due to breaking instead of cutting 
the curd and the subsequent hard stirring. The pos- 
sibility of reducing these excessive losses has already 
been indicated. 

Swiss cheeses of high grade show about the following 
range of composition: 

Water 30-34 per cent 

Fat . . . . ' . . 30-34 per cent 

Protein 26-30 per cent 

Ash 3-5 per cent 

Salt (NaCl) . . . . 1-1.4 per cent 

The water-content of this t^pe of cheese is low and the 
protein-content is proportionately high. Both condi- 
tions lead to firm textures, long ripening and long keeping 
periods. 

The following score-card is used to judge both block 
and drum Swiss cheese : 

Flavor 35 

Appearance on trier holes ... 30 

Texture 20 

Salt 10 

Style . _5 

100 



288 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

The yield of Swiss cheese varies from S to 11 pounds 
to 100 pounds of milk. The more solids in the milk, the 
more moisture incorporated in the cheese ; the smaller 
the loss of solids in the manufacturing process, the 
larger will be the^ yield from a given amount of milk. 

THE ITALIAN GROUP ^ 

A group of varieties, best known in America by Parme- 
san, are made in Italy with related forms in Greece and 
European Turkey. These forms are very hard, usually 
uncolored, with small eyes or holes. They are made in 
large cheeses which ripen very slowly. Cow's milk is 
regularly used for Parmesan and Grana in northern 
Italy ; other varieties contain goat or sheep milk or vari- 
ous mixtures. Aside from Parmesan, few of the other 
forms are known outside the place of origin except as 
they are exported in a small way to satisfy the demand 
of emigrants from these regions. 

276. Parmesan. — One type of Italian cheese, how- 
ever, the Parmesan, has become very widely known. In 
general the consuming trade does not discriminate be- 
tween Parmesan, Grana and closely related forms. Par- 
mesan is made in large cheeses which require one to three 
years for proper ripening ; in texture it is very hard with 
small eyes or holes formed by \Try slow fermentation. 
Such cheeses are ripened in large storehouses in which 

1 Gorini, C, Studi sulla fabricatione razionale del fromaggi 
Grana, Boll, iiflf. del JSliiiistero Agi*. Tnd. e Comm. Anno X, 
serie C, Fasc. 10, pages 1-7, Roma, 1911. 

Gorini, C, On the distribution of bacteria in Grana cheese, 
Centralb. f. Bakt. etc. 2 Abt. 12 (19(14). pages 78-81. 

Fascetti, G., The technological chemistry of the manufacture 
of Grana cheese in Reggio, Staz. Sper. Agr. Ital. 47 (1914), 
no. 8, pages 541-568. 



THE SWISS AND ITALIAN GROUPS 289 

hundreds and even thousands are brought together 
and cared for by experts. The surfaces of these cheeses 
are kept clean and free from insects by rubbing with 
linseed oil. So hard are these forms that the cheese- 
trier is not used in testing, but the texture of the surface 
is tested by pricking with an awl-like tool and the stage 
of eye-formation and associated ripening is determined 
by the soiuid given out when the cheeses are tapped with 
a hammer. 

When ripe, the cheeses of this group are used in cooking 
princiijally. The broken cheese is grated and added to 
macaroni, spaghetti and other cooked cheese dishes. 
Parmesan is usually made from partly skimmed-milk ; 
the ratio of fat to protein in analysis runs from 1 : 2 to 3 : 4 
in contrast to the normal relation of about 4:3 in whole- 
milk cheese. In water-content much variation is found, 
but ripe Parmesan is usuially about 30 per cent water. 
Other members of the group are made with difi'erent 
amounts of skimming, some of them from whole milk. 
The group in general represents the requirements of cheese 
for the trade of warmer regions (see Mayo and Elling) : 
(1) a low fat-content so incorporated that the cheese does 
not become greasy or oily in hot weather ; (2) a water- 
content low enough to prevent rapid spoilage during the 
necessary exposure of handling under warm conditions. 

The equipment for Parmesan manufacture has more 
resemblance to that of the Swiss factory than the 
English and American cheeses. The milk is curdled in 
deep copper kettles (Fig. 57), below which there is com- 
monly a provision for direct heating by fire which is 
sometimes carried on a truck, and therefore can be with- 
drawn when heating is sufficient. The steam-jacketed 
kettle has replaced this earlier form to a large measure. 



290 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



The general character of the manufacturing process is 
indicated in the following abstract of one of the methods. 
Many variations are to be found. The milk for 
Parmesan is allowed to stand overnight. Some acidity 
is, therefore, developed in contrast to the absolutely 
fresh condition of the milk used in Swiss and the 
acidification developed during the making of Cheddar 
(Fascetti). It is then skimmed, heated to 72° to 75° F. 
Rennet is added in amount sufficient to produce firm 
ciu'd in one hour or slightly less. When the curd is firm, 




Fig. 57. — Parmesan cheese kettles. 

a wood fire is made under the kettle and the curd is 
broken with a special implement into small particles. 
After breaking, four grains of powdered sulfur to twenty- 
two gallons of milk are added. The curd is stirred with 
a rake. By the time the temperature rises to 77° F., 
the curd should be in very small pieces. Stirring and 
heating continue until the temperature reaches 131° F. 
At this temperature, it stands fifteen minutes, after which 
it is removed from the fire (or the fij*e is drawn). Nine- 
tenths of the whey is then drawn. The cheese-maker 
then collects the curd into a compact lump under which 



THE SWISS AND ITALIAN GROUPS 



291 



he slips a cheese cloth. With the aid of an assistant he 
removes the mass to a perforated vessel for draining. 
After this the curd goes into large wooden hoops, lined 
with cloth, which stand upon a slanting draining table 
until evening. No pressure is used. Before night they 
are taken to the cellar. The cloths are removed next 




day. After standing four days, they are salted by cover- 
ing the upper surface with coarse salt. This is repeated 
with daily turning for twenty days, then salted on alter- 
nate days for another period of twenty days. At the 
end of the forty days' salting, the cheese is removed from 
the hoop, scraped, sprinkled with whey and the rind 
rubbed smooth. A dressing of linseed oil either with or 
without bone black is applied. 

The cheeses are kept in special ripening rooms. 



292 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

and rubbed frequently with linseed oil to keep the surfaces 
free from molds and vermin. Careful grading as to qual- 
ity of product and consequent response to ripening con- 
ditions produce cheeses of many degrees of excellence. 
Those in which a ripening of three to four years is possible 
arc most highly esteemed. 

277. Regianito. — A cheese of the Italian group is 
now made in Argentina and imported to the United States 
under the name Regianito. 



CHAPTER XVI 

MISCELLANEOUS VARIETIES AND BY- 
PRODUCTS 

As already discussed in Chapter VI, there are a large 
number of varieties of cheese. Very many are entirely 
unknown in America, A considerable number of forms 
are occasionally imported and may be found by visiting 
the markets and delicatessen stores in the foreign dis- 
tricts of our large cities. Certain forms not widely known 
are made in America in a few factories or are imported 
in sufficient (juantity to call for brief discussion. Some 
of these are brought together here. 

The importance of the by-products of cheese-making 
has not been sufficiently recognized, for manufacture on 
a large scale is only beginning to be appreciated in America. 
Certain cheese names, such as Mysost, are applied to whey 
products. In addition, milk-sugar is extensively made 
and whey-butter has been carefully studied and found 
to be practicable under some conditions. 

278. Caciocavallo originated in Italy, but is now made 
in certain factories of New York and Ohio. Some factories 
in Lombardy^ use whole milk, others use half-skimmed 
milk. The latter practice is probably the more common. 
In making this cheese, the milk is coagulated with rennet, 
cut and firmed in the whey, allowed to settle and the whey 

1 Cornalba, G., Caciocavallo in Lombardy, L'Industria del 
Latte 3, page 105, Abs. in Jahresb. f. Tierchemie 36 (1906), 
page 250. 

293 



294 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

drawn. The curd is then piled on the draining table 
and allowed to mat or fuse into fairly solid masses. After 
several hours of draining and matting, the curd is cut 
into strips and placed in a vat of hot water. In the hot 
water, the blocks of solid curd melt into taffy-like masses 
which are worked and molded by hand into more or less 
standard shapes. Indian club or ten-pin forms are 
most commonly produced. When the proper shape has 
been gained, each mass is thrown into cold water which 
solidifies it in that form. Cheese masses heat and cool 
slowly ; several hours of cooling are required to insure 
a firm cheese. The newly made cheeses are salted in a 
brine bath, then hung by a string to ripen. KSometimes 
these cheeses are eaten fresh, again they are ripened several 
months. They vary in size from one to six ])()unds. 
Cornalba gives the composition of Italian caci()('a^■allo 
made from whole milk as water 32 to 34 per cent, fat 34 
to 36 per cent, protein 2S.5 to 29.5 per cent, salt 1.7 to 
1.8 per cent; when made from half skimmed-milk, water 
28 per cent, fat 27 to 28 per cent, protein 35 to 40 per cent, 
salt 2.2 per cent. Other analyses vary widely from these 
figures on account of the diti'ering fat-content of the milk. 
No standardized practice ha-s been established in America. 

Promlono resembles Caciocavallo in method of manu- 
facture and composition, the main difference being in 
the shape of the cheese. It is more or less round and 
is held by a coarse net made of small rope. The cheeses 
are treated while curing the same as Caciocavallo. 

279. Sap sago. — This hard green cheese imported 
from Switzerland is made in cakes, tapering from perhaps 
two inches in diameter to a rounded top with a height 
of about two inches. These are made from skimmed-milk 
curd, partially ripened then mixed with powdered leaves 



MISCELLANEOUS VARIETIES, BY-PRODUCTS 295 

of Melilotus cceruleus, a clover-like plant. The mixture 
is then pressed into the market form and dried until very 
hard. It is handled without special care since the water- 
content is so low that fermentations are exceedingly 
slow. This low-priced cheese may be used in cooking. 

280. Albumin cheese.^ — In the rennet cheeses, the 
albumin, which constitutes about 0.7 per cent of the 
milk, passes off in the whey. This albumin is not curdled 
by rennet. It is, however, coagulated by heating. The 
presence of acid hastens such coagulation but does not 
cause it when used alone. When the whey is heated to 
about 200° F., the albumin rises and may be skimmed off. 
In this form it is recovered and used. It may be shaped 
is hoops under pressure, as Ricotte, an Italian form. 
This cheese is pressed firmly and dried. Such albumin 
is frequently prepared as a poultry feed. 

281. Mysost, Norwegian whey cheese. — The whey 
contains nearly 5 per cent of milk-sugar which can be 
recovered by boiling. The Norwegian process which 
produces Mysost consists in raising the whey to the boil- 
ing point, skimming off the albumin as it rises, then con- 
centrating the remainder of the whey. As it reaches 
sufficient concentration, the albumin is thoroughly stirred 
back into the mass and the mass finally cooled into forms. 
Mysost is a brown, hard brittle mass consisting principally 
of caramelized milk-sugar. Analysis shows such percentage 
composition as follows : water 10 to 20 per cent, protein 
10 to 15 per cent, milk-sugar 30 to 55 per cent. Mysost 
is found in the larger markets of the United States. 

Primost is an albumin cheese somewhat similar to 
Ricotte and Mysost. It is made by precipitating the 

1 Babcock, S. M., Albumin cheese, Wis. Exp. Sta. Rept. 12 
(1895), page 134. 



296 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

albumin by acid and heat. The main difference is in 
the firmness of the cheese. This is regulated by drying. 

282. Whey butter.^ — The loss of a percentage of fat, 
rarely less than O.o per cent and in some cheeses very 
much greater, has led to the making of whey butter. 
For this purpose a separator is introduced and all whey 
is separatetl daily. The fat recovered in the form of 
cream is then ripened and churned. Whey butter is not 
rated as equal to butter made from whole milk but a fair 
market can usually be found for the product. The recov- 
ery of 0.25 per cent fat means two and one-half pounds 
of fat to 1000 pounds of whey. This will make about 
three poimds of butter. 

Whether whey butter shall be made depends on the 
volume of business, the extra equipment required, the 
extra help necessary and the market for the product. 
As a rule, whey butter is economically recoverable 
only in large factories. It is not considered advisable 
to attempt to make it unless one has the whey from 
10,000 pounds of milk. In some instances, the com- 
bination of small cheese factories with one churning 
plant has proved to be economical. The objection to 
the making of whey butter is, that it stimidates careless- 
ness on the part of the cheese-maker because he thinks that 
the fat will be recovered by skimming. lie does not realize 
that the other milk solids are being reduced in the same 
proportion as the fat, to the great loss in yield of cheese. 

1 Doane, C. F., Whey butter, U. S. Dept. Agr. Bur. An. Ind. 
Circ. 161, pages 1-7, 1910. 

Sammis, J. L., Making whey butter at Cheddar cheese fac- 
tories. Wis. Exp. Sta. Bui. 246, 1915. 

Ellenberrger, H. B., and M. R. Tolstrup, Skimming whey at 
Vermont cheese factories, Vt. Dept. Agr. Bui. 26, 1916. 



CHAPTER XVII 

CHEESE FACTORY CONSTRUCTION, 
EQUIPMENT, ORGANIZATION 

The principal factor in determining the location of a 
cheese factory is the available supply of milk. This 
is usually ascertained by making a canvass, and finding 
out the number of cows whose milk would be brought 
to the factory. The quantity of milk or the number 
of cows necessary to insure sufficient milk for the suc- 
cessful operation of the factory, depends on the variety 
of cheese to be made. When making types of cheese 
for which very sweet milk is necessary, the milk must 
be delivered twice a day. This demand limits the area 
from which the factory can secure its supply. The 
length of time the cheeses are held in the curing-room and 
the work necessary to care for them also limits the area 
which the factory can ser^'e, because a very large amount 
of milk cannot be handled when the cheese must be given 
considerable attention in the curing-rooms. Swiss, Lim- 
burger and Brick cheese factories usually do not require a 
large supply of milk ; therefore the factories may be built 
close together. The size of the Cheddar cheese factories 
varies but it is generally considered unprofitable to make 
Cheddar cheese unless there are 5000 pounds of milk 
available daily. Conditions have changed so that at 
present different kinds of cheese are made from the 

297 



298 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

surplus milk in market milk plants. In such cases a uni- 
form supply is not absolutely necessary. The climate 
must also be suitable for the industry. 

283. Locating the site. — In a farming community, 
several factory sites are usually available. It is best 
to consider carefully the desirable features of each before 
trying to make a definite choice. Many of the present 
cheese factories were located in hollows because it was 
easy to secure a supply of water, but no thought or 
attention w^as given to the disposal of the sewage. The 
following points should be considered in choosing a site : 

(1) Drainage. — A factory should be so located that it 
has good drainage. Ground that slopes away from the 
factory makes the disposal of sewage easy. Sewage 
should not be allowed to run out on the ground and left 
to decay, thus forming a breeding place for flies, but 
should run into a cesspool or septic tank.^ Even in a 
porous soil, a cesspool frequently clogs and gives trouble. 
The septic tank seems to be the best method to dispose 
of the sewage unless the factory is so located that con- 
nection can be made with a city sewage system. 

(2) Wafer. — An abundant supply of pure water is 
essential to a factory. This may come either from deep 
wells or springs. The value of a never-failing water supply 
cannot be overestimated. 

(3) Exyosure. — The factory should be so located that 
the receiving room is away from the prevailing winds. 
This prevents dust being blown into the factory. The 
curing-room should be on the side not exposed to the sun 
as this will keep it cool. Fig. 59 shows a clean cheese 
factory of the ordinary type. When it is desirable to cure 

1 Farrington, E. H., and G. J. Davis, The disposal of creamery 
sewage, Wis. Exp. Sta. Bui. 245, 1915. 



CHEESE FACTORY CONSTRUCTION, ETC. 299 

the cheese in a cellar, it is better to locate the factory on 
the side of a hill. Then the receiving and manufacturing 
room may be on the ground level and the curing-room, 
a cellar, back of the manufacturing room and yet all on 
the same level. This saves carrying the cheese up and 
down stairs. 

(4) Accessibility to market should not be overlooked. 
Often the quality of the cheese is injured by long hauls. 




Fig. 59. — A cheese factory of neat appearance. 



An important item in marketing both milk and cheese is 
the use of the automobile. By its use the products are 
not so long in transit, and losses from exposure in delivery 
are reduced. Both milk and cheese, when exposed to 
the heat of the sun for any length of time, become warm. 
This gives undesirable organisms chance to develop. 

284. The building. — Details of construction or esti- 
mates of cost will be omitted in the present discussion. 
A local contractor can do this satisfactorily and also the 



300 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

cost of materials is constantly changing. Only general 
considerations as they apply to the manufacture of the 
product will be taken up. 

The building may be constructed of wood, stone, various 
bricks or concrete. The kind of material will depend on 
the ^elati^'e cost of materials in the local market and 
on the amount of money available for building. 

285. Heating plant. — Many of the older factories 
have no heating j)lants and some are so poorly constructed 
that they cannot be warmed. Means of heating should 
be provided, either by steam or a stove. The loss due 
to freezing is an item which is entirely avoided in factories 
properly heated. 

286. Curing-rooms. — The size of the curing-rooms 
will depend on the amount of cheese to be handled and 
its location on the variety of cheese to be manufactured. 
In every case, some provision should be made to control 
humidity and temperature. If the room becomes hot 
and dry, evaporation from the cheese will be much more 
rapid. In a hot curing-room, undesirable types of fer- 
ments are more likely to develop and to injure the quality 
of the cheese. 

287. Light. — The importance of light should be 
emphasized. It acts as a stimulant to keep things clean. 
It also makes the factory more cheerful. There should 
be numerous windows to give plenty of light. A skylight 
may often serve both as a source of light and ventilation. 

288. Ventilation. — Plenty of ventilation should be 
provided. This may be accomplished by means of the 
windows or skylight. However, it is a good precaution 
to have at least one ventilator to carry off the steam and 
control the circulation of air. All openings should be 
carefully screened to keep out flies. 



CHEESE FACTORY CONSTRUCTION, ETC. 301 

289. Boiler-room. — The boiler-room should be easily 
accessible from the manufacturing rooms. A gauge 
located in the latter should tell the steam pressure. Win- 
dows or doors should be so located that the flues of the 
boiler can be cleaned. The coal supply should l)e handy. 
Great care should be exercised to keep the boiler-room 
clean for otherwise the dirt will be tracked all over the 
factory. 

290. Whey tanks sliould be kept clean. Daily wash- 
ing is absolutely necessary to prevent offensive odors. 
Pasteurization of whey has been found requisite to 
prevent the spread of disease if raw milk is used.^ 
This is required by law in some states. It is some- 
times accomplished by heat with steam coils ; in other 
cases by running live steam directly into the whey. 
Whey tanks may be made of wood or steel. The acid 
of the whey seems to eat and decompose concrete. 

291. Store-room. — There should be a separate room 
or a place in the attic where the sui)plies can be kept. 
This saves much waste and keeps the factory cleaner 
and more tidy. 

292. The floors. — The floor is the most important 
part of the building. It should be of non-absorbent ma- 
terial, which can be easily cleaned, and it should not leak. 
Concrete makes the best floor of any material used at 
present. It should slope very gently to the drain. 
The corners between the floor and side walls should be 
rounding to make cleaning easy. The drain should be 
provided with bell traps to prevent the entrance of 
sewer gas into the factory. If the traps and floor about 
them are slightly depressed, it will help to make the 

' Dotterrer, W. D., and R. S. Breed, Why and how pasteurize 
dairy by-products, N. Y. (Geneva) Exp. Sta. Bui. 412, 1915. 



302 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



floor drain more quickly. A catch-basin should be 
provided just outside the factory for all solid material 
which might clog the sewer pipe. This should be 
cleaned three or four times a year. 

293. Arrangement of machinery and rooms. — The 
rooms and machinery should be arranged so that the work 



AMP 



\ 



COVtRtP 
PR I VE WAV 



LABORAt 



i 



mm 

WEIGH 
CAN 



O 



-TESTING 

Shelf- 



Ok^^SHELF- 

STarte r can 

OR barrel 



o:.. 



HOT ', 
WATER • 
BARREL 



r^ 



^^^„,^ 



□ 



PRElSS I .V,,^ 



TABLES,- 



□ SEtPARATCiR 



\, 



CREAM 
VAT 



tllll»»»»l»»»ll»l»>l»l>l»ll>f}f.^,...U , ITT 



COAL SHEP 

HIGH WINDOWS FOR 
FILLlNCi 




Fig. 60. — A well arranged Cheddar cheese faetory, including the 
equipment for the nianufactiue of whey butter. 

will follow the natural sequence of the process with as 
little inconvenience as possible. Some of the points to 
be observed in this connection are : vats should be near 



CHEESE FACTORY CONSTRUCTION, ETC. 303 

the weigh-can ; boiler-room near the work room ; cheese 
presses near the vats ; cheese presses near the curing- 
rooms and the like. 

Fig. 60 shows a well arranged Cheddar cheese factory. 
The necessary machinery and rooms for the manufacture 
of whey butter are included. In this plan, the attic 
contains the store-room and the whey tanks. The whey 
is forced from the vats into the tanks with a steam jet 
and then runs by gravity to the separator. Slides are 
provided in the walls of the ice storage to regulate the 
flow of air into the curing-room and butter refrigerator. 
In order to have a smaller boiler, a gasolene engine is used 
to run the separator, churn and curd-mill. The plan can 
be modified to use the upstairs for a curing-room so that 
the size of the factory may be reduced. The whey butter 
could be shifted to a small room where the curing-room now 
is and the boiier-room added as a " lean-to " at one side 
of the building. This would materially reduce the size 
of the main building. 

Another plan (Fig. 61) shows the arrangement of a 
Cheddar cheese factory without the whey butter appara- 
tus. The location of the drain between the vats might 
be criticized. In Fig. 62 is shown the arrangement of a 
combined butter and cheese factory. Fig. 63 shows the 
possible arrangement of a Limburger factory. The size 
of this factory could be reduced by having the salting 
tables closer together. 

In a Cheddar cheese factory, the curing-room may 
be over the manufacturing room. This makes consid- 
erable work in carrying the cheese up and down. A 
small elevator may be used for this purpose. The same 
principle holds in cheese factories in which other varieties 
of cheese are made ; the floors should be on one level so 



304 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 







X 




/ 

/ 






o 




/ 






CJ 




/ 






^ 










C7 










^ 


















^ 


< 


•^ 




<^ 














,' 












'^^ 


N 


1 



CO "O 



/ ■ C3 « _ 

/ ffl '^ ^ "-I 



'^^El 




CO ci 



CHEESE FACTORY CONSTRUCTION, ETC. 305 

far as possible. There is danger of the overhead curing- 
room becoming too hot and causing the cheese to leak 
fat. Shelves or tables should be provided on which to 

1, Boiler; 2, engine; 3, water 
pump ; 4, work bench ; 5, wash 
sink; 6, press; 7, elevator; 8, 
clieese vats ; 9, separator ; 10, 
milk heater; 11, milk receiv- 
ing vat; 12, press; 13, shelf; 
14, Babcock tester; 15, weigh- 
can ; 16, churn; 17, starter; 
18, cream ripener and pasteur- 
izer; 19, refrigerator; 20, milk 
sheet and sample jar; 21, milk 




pump. 



BVTTER. K^m 





T RECEIVOAiG 



SCALE: \1\ F-EET 



Fig. 62. — Combined Cheddar cheese and butter factory. 



put and keep the utensils. The utensils should never be 
placed on the floor. 

294. Arrangements for cleanliness. — A sink for wash- 
ing the utensils should be provided and boiling water 
to scald them after washing. After being scalded, tin 
utensils dry quickly without rusting. The boiling water 



306 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



may be obtained by 
placing a steam pipe 
in a barrel of water 
and turning on the 
steam. The utensils 
can then be washed 
clean, dipped in this 
barrel of boiling water 
and put in their place. 
Too much emphasis 
cannot be laid on keep- 
ing the factory itself, 
the utensils and the 
surroundings clean. 
This will prevent the 
development of mold. 
Cases are known in 
which the cheese fac- 
tory was allowed to 
become very dirty, so 
that a red mold devel- 
oped. This eventually 
got into the cheese and 
caused red spots.^ 
They are called rust 
spots. All doors and 
windov/s should be 
screened to keep out 
flies. 

295. Equipment and 
supplies list. — The 



J Harding, H. A., and G. A. Smith, Control of rust spots in 
cheese, N. Y. (Geneva) E.\p. Sta. Bui. 225, 1902. 




o 




z 


lU 






z to 1 


< 


2 


Ck 





Ol- 

5 







in 




a* 


< 


X 


> 


u 






CHEESE FACTORY CONSTRUCTION, ETC. 307 

following utensils will be needed in a Cheddar cheese fac- 
tory to handle 10,000 pounds of milk daily : 1 5-H. P. 
boiler ; 1 CO-gallon weigh-can ; 1 conductor head and trough ; 
1 platform scale ; 1 Babcock tester, glassware and sample 
bottles ; 2 700-gallon cheese vats ; 2 gang cheese presses ; 
1 curd-mill ; 2 curd-knives ; 30 cheese hoops ; 1 whey 
strainer ; 1 curd scoop ; 1 long-handled dipper ; 1 strainer 
dipper ; 1 siphon ; 1 cheese knife ; 1 glass graduate ; 
1 cheese-trier ; 1 speed knife ; 1 paraffine tank ; 1 Marschall 
rennet test ; 1 lactometer ; 1 milk can hoist ; 1 acid 
test ; 1 sink ; 1 40-quart milk can ; 3 pails ; 3 shot-gun 
cans for starter ; 3 thermometers ; brushes and brooms ; 
1 Wisconsin curd test or fruit jars for same ; 1 set counter 
scales ; 2 curd rakes. 

If whey butter is made, the equipment should include : 
Tanks to hold the whey ; separator ; cream ripening vat ; 
churn ; butter-worker ; butter refrigerator ; large boiler 
and steam engine or gasolene engine. 

The following supplies will be needed for the making 
of the cheese : Bandages ; boxes ; scale boards ; starched 
, circles ; rennet extract or pepsin ; cheese color ; press cloths ; 
paraffine ; formalde- 
hyde ; alkali ; indi- 
cator ; sulfuric acid. 

When choosing the 
utensils, the ease of 

1 • J "j. Fig. 64. — A sanitary dipper with a solid 

cleanmg and sanitary handle, 

construction should 

not be overlooked. One of the most unsanitary utensils 
in a factory is a dipper with a hollow handle. Fig. 64 
shows a dipper with a solid handle which any tinsmith 
can make. The seams of all utensils should be flushed 
full of solder, to make cleaning easy. When ready to 




308 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

clean or wash any utensils which have come in contact 
with milk or its products, the steps are as follows : rinse 
in cold water, wash in warm water in which some wash- 
ing-soda has been dissolved, rinse clean, scald in boiling 
water. Never use a cloth to wash utensils ; a brush is 
more sanitary. 

296. Factory organization. — There are two general 
classes of organizations^ to operate cheese factories, one 
the proprietary and the other the cooperative. Un- 
less the kind of organization is what the dairy-men desire, 
dissatisfaction is sure to result. 

(1) Proprietary organization. — Under this form of 
organization, one person owns and operates the fac- 
tory. The dairy-men are paid a stated price for milk, 
or the milk is made into cheese for a stated price a 
pound. The proprietor receives all profits and assumes 
all losses. 

So far as the dairy-man is concerned, the stock com- 
pany is a proprietary organization. The gains and 
losses are shared by each member according to the 
amount of money invested. 

(2) Cooperative organizatimi. — In a true cooperative 
cheese factory each patron is an owner, as the name 
indicates. The object of this organization is to reduce 
the cost of manufacture rather than pay large dividends, 
so that the dairy-man with a large herd and small capital 
invested in the factory obtains more returns than the 
one who owns considerable capital and has a small herd. 
Many cheese factories are cooperative in name only and 

' Elliott, W. J., Creameries and cheese factories, Mont. Exp. 
Sta. Bui. 53, 1904. 

Farrington, E. H., and E. H. Benkendorf, Origination and 
construction of cheese factories and creameries, Wis. Exp. Sta. 
Bui. 244, 1915. 



CHEESE FACTORY CONSTRUCTION, ETC. 309 

proprietary in operation. The state of Wisconsin has 
a law which tends to stop this defect and defines what 
organizations may use the term or name, cooperative. 

The constitution of a cooperative organization should 
state: 1, Name; 2, object; 3, officers and duties of 
officers ; 4, manager or other person to run business ; 
5, capital stock; 6, meetings; 7, voting power; 8, 
amendments. 

Some of the most important statements which should 
appear in the constitution are mentioned in the following 
sentences. A statement should show what persons are 
eligible to membership in the organization. It is a 
careless plan simply to say that the duties of the officers 
are those usually defined in such an organization. This 
may lead to confusion and neglect, or both. Direct 
statements should be made explaining the exact duties 
of each officer. The limits of the authority of the manager 
or person who runs the business should be explicitly 
stated. The manager then knows just what his duties 
are and what matters or parts of the business must be 
considered by other officers or committees. The amount 
of capital stock and the number and value of each share 
should be exactly stated. The constitution should state 
when and where the regular meetings must be held and 
by whom and when special meetings may be called. 
This gives every member ample notice of the regular 
meetings. Some method or means should be provided to 
notify each member of the special meetings. 

The voting power should be definitely stated, whether 
it is limited to shares of capital stock or by members or 
by number of cows owned by each member. It is neces- 
sary to indicate just how amendments to the constitution 
may be made. Each member should know before the 



310 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

final vote just what changes are being proposed. Types 
of constitutions may be found in the following references : 

Elliott, W. J., Creameries and cheese factories; organization, 

building and equipment, Mont. Exp. Sta. Bui. 53, 1904. 
Farrington, E. H., and G. H. Benkkndorf, Organization and 

construction of creameries and cheese factories. Wis. Exp. 

Sta. Bui. 244, J915. 
Van Slyke, L. L., and C. A. Publow, The science and practice 

of cheese making, pages 447-453, 1909. 
Iowa Exp. Sta. Bui. 139, 1913. Creamery organization and 

construction. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE 
CHEESE INDUSTRY IN AMERICA 

Just when the first cheese was made is not known. 
By the time the first immigrants came to America, 
cheese-making was rather generally known in Europe, 
so that the early settlers brought with them and practiced 
established methods. The countries of Europe developed 
different kinds of cheese and have since become noted for 
such particular varieties, for example : France, Camem- 
bert and Roquefort ; Switzerland, Swiss cheese ; England, 
Stilton and Cheddar; Germany, Limburger; Holland, 
Edam and Gouda ; Italy, Parmesan and its allies, 
also Gorgonzola cheese. The manufacture of these 
various cheeses has been attempted in this country. 
Because of the difference in climatic conditions and 
in some cases the use of milk of sheep or goats, it was 
and still is difficult to manufacture some of the European 
cheeses in America. Since the climatic conditions of this 
country and certain parts of England are somewhat similar, 
the manufacture of the cheeses of England predominated, 
and there was also more information on theii" manufacture. 
These are probably the reasons why the United States and 
Canada have become famous for Cheddar cheese. 

The first cheeses of the Cheddar group were made on 
the farms. The work was usually performed by women, 
and the process was very simple. The methods were crude, 

311 



312 77//'; HOOK or cifEUSE 

and tlu> clioesos wcmv iiuulo in u more or less liaphazard 
wjiy. Tlu' milk of the evening was placed in a cheese 
tub in the dairy room and cooled to a temj)eratnre that 
would ])revent souring. In most cases the cream that 
had raised to the surface of the night's milk was removed 
in the morning. This was considered an act of economy, 
for it was thought that in the ])rocess of manufacture 
it would all i)ass off in the whey and he lost. The morn- 
ing's milk was then mixed with thai of the evening and 
warmed to the setting temi)erature by placing a portion 
in a tin pail and suspending it in a kettl(> of hot water. 
When hot, it was ein|)ti(>d into the tub of cold milk. 
By transferring back and forth, the setting temperature 
was hiially r<>acluHl. Few of these settlers owned ther- 
monu>l(M's. ConseipuMitly, cluH>s(>-mak(M-s were obliged 
to depend on the sense of fcH'ling to d(>t(M'mine t(Mn])erature. 
One of the serious difHculties of the ciw\\ manufac- 
ture was the production of renn(>t of a uniform strength. 
After the addition of tlu> rennet and as soon as the coagu- 
lated milk became firin enough, it was broken into as 
small pieces as could be conveniently made, a wooden 
knife b(>ing usi^l for the purpose. After standing ten 
minutes it was stirred by hand, breaking the i)ieces finer, 
and the temperature was gradually brougiit to 08° F., 
aiming as near blood heat as could be judged by the 
sense of fi>cling. It was kept at this temperature until 
the moisture was out of the curd and it would squeak 
between the teeth. The whey was drawn oif and the 
curd stirred until dry, salted and put to press. All the 
curd of one day was made into a cheese. This resulted 
in small uneven-sized cheese. Since such cheeses were 
made from the milk of single dairies with all the surround- 
ings I'lean, the flavor was usually good but the texture 



THE CHEESE INDUSTRY IN AMERICA 313 

was open and soft. The method of caring for the cheese 
and marketing was entirely different from that practiced 
at the present time. All the cheeses made during the 
entire season were held until fall and marketed at one 
time. They were packed in casks four to six in a package, 
one on toj) of the other. The earliest date when single 
boxed cheeses were on the market was 1841. 

Between 1820 and 1840, a. small export trade in cheese 
was started. As this demand for cheese increased, partic- 
ularly in England, it became necessary to change the 
methods emi)loyed in manufacture. The farm dairy 
cheese was rather an open-textured sweet curd product. 
If not, it was due more to accident than to any intention 
of the cheese-maker to improve the quality. One of the 
early complaints from England was that the cheeses were 
too small and uneven in size. The practice of making I 
on the farm continued until about 1851, when the factory 
system was started, although home manufactures con- 
tinued after that time. Eollowing are the reasons for the 
change from the farm to factory system: (1) England 
demanded larger cheese ; (2) the farm product was not 
uniform ; (3) the quality of the farm cheese did not suit 
the English trade ; (4) factories saved much labor on the 
farms; and (r)) could secure higher prices. 

297. The factory system. — Where and by whom the 
first Cheddar cheese factory in America was started is 
not definitely known. Jesse Williams of Oneida County, 
New York, is supposed by many to have been the first to 
build and operate under the factory system, fix 1851. 
Cheese factories were oj)ene<l in Ohio and Wisconsin about 
18()(). In the period 1S()0 to 1870, a large number of 
cheese factories were built in the various states, especially 
New York, Ohio and Wisconsin. 



314 TiiK HOOK OF (iii':i':si': 

298. Introduction of factory system in Canada. — 
111 \S(h\, llai'M'y b'iirriii^toii ot I Icikiiiu-r, Nfw \ oi'k, 
was so impressed witli the opportunity of developing the 
cheese factory system in Cjinadji that he sold out his 
hiisiness in N(>\v ^ Ork and estahhshiul the first Canadian 
cheese faetory in the town of Norwich, Ontario. It was 
accepted at once by Canadian fanners, and factory cheese- 
niakin*;" incrt^ased rapidly. In I Slid, a small cpiantity of 
cheese was exi)ort(>d and from that time the export trade 
of Canada has h(>en large and growinj;-. Ontario and 
(^nehec are now the Icadinj:; i)rovinces in the production 
of cheese. 

299. Introduction of cheddaring. The factories at 
lirst nsed the same proct>ss as the farms, namely the stirred- 
curd process. In IS()7, IJoluM't McAdam intioduced the 
Knglish Cheddar system in a factory near Herkimer, 
New York, 'i'his is the Cheddar system as known to-day. 
It ])roduces the closer bodied cheese (lcinand(>(l by the 
ex[)ort trade. 'I'his introdnction made Herkimer County 
famous for its cheese. 

300. Introduction of Swiss and Limburger. — In 1S7(), 
factories for I/imbm\i;'cr, Swiss and Hrick cheese were 
started and haxc j;radually incrt^ascd. In New York 
such i)lants are located around Boonville in Oneida 
County, and Theresa, ill JeiVerson County. In Wis- 
consin, Swiss cheese-making- was begun by a colony of 
Swiss who came to New Cdarus, (ireen County. It is 
now^ made in (ireen, Lafayette, Iowa, (irant, Dane and 
Koek counties. Lind)urg(>r and Brick ari> manufactured 
in Oodgc", lM)nd dn Lac. Winnebago, Marathon, La (^'osse, 
Bnllaio, Tr(Mnp(\dean, Clark, \\ashington, l)nnn, Barron 
and Lincoln conntics. In the southeastern part of Ohio 
Swiss cheese is produi'cd. Ohio and Wisconsin have 



77//'; CIIHH.HM INDUSTIiY IN AMKUK'A 315 

maimfjictiircd more of tlicsc cIkh'scs, cspccijiliy Swiss, 
tliiiii uiiy other stutcs. 'I'liis is j)n)l)iil)Iy due to tlic fact 
that the ('onditioiis arc more nearly like those of Switzer- 
land. 

When the cities in New York he^an to j^row, an 
increased demand for market milk was felt. I'lic result 
was that the dairy-men (;ould not supply both the cities 
and the cheese factories with milk. A lar^e |)art of 
the cheese was l)eiii^ ex|)orted and most of it had al- 
ways Ix'cn partly skinuned. The amount of skiimnin^, 
therefore, was largely increased. Then other animal 
fats were substituted for the milk-fat. This product 
was known as "filled" cheese. The delay in con- 
trolling,' the jiractiee of makiiif; skimmed-milk and filled 
chees<' ruined the export trade. In ('an;ida laws 
proliibitcd the m;d<iii^ of filled cheese and as a coji- 
sequence Ciinadiiin ( lieddnr cheese is still very popular 
in l^iU^dand. 1 lowever, with the control of skinmied-milk 
cheese-ma kinj;" and the elimination of filled cheese, the 
V()lum(i continued to ^row and to find outlet in local 
consumption. New V'ork |)robably exported more 
cheese than any other state. Wisconsin shijjped cheese 
into other rejj;ions, especially the southern states in which 
no cheeses W(Te imule. Some Wisconsin cheeses were 
shipped to the New York market from time to time, 
but in October, lOT), the first quotations' were made 
in New York City for Wisconsin products. 

301. Number and distribution of cheese factories. — 
The followinji; list and nuq)s (Ki^s. (If), (Hi) comi)iled iti 1014 
by the United States Department of Af^n-iculturc Dairy 
Division, show the number of cheese factories in tlie dif- 
ferent states and tlu-ir location : 

• Kroiii N. Y. prico current. 



316 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 




THE CHEESE INDUSTRY IN AMERICA 317 



Arizona 3 

California 93 

Colorado 8 

Connecticut 2 

Delaware 1 

Illinois 50 

Indiana 13 

Iowa 25 

Kansas 1 

Maine 5 

Michigan 196 

Minnesota 74 

Missouri 4 

Montana 1 

Nebraska 1 



New Hampshire 
New York . 
North Dakota, 
Ohio . . . 
Oklahoma . 
Oregon . . 
Pennsylvania 
South Dakota 
Utah . . 
Vermont 
Virginia 
Washington 
West Virginia 
Wisconsin . 



2 

995 

3 

111 

1 

42 

106 

1 

8 

35 

3 

15 

1 

1720 

3520 



302. Total production of cheese in the United States. 
— The following figures (Table XX) compiled by the 
United States Census show the total production of cheese 
and the amount made on farms and in factories in the 
United States by ten-year periods : 



TABLE XX 

Showing the Total Production of Cheese and Part 
Made on Farms and in Factories in the United 
States by Ten-year Periods 



1849 


Total 105,535,893 pounds 


1859 


Total 103,663,927 pounds 


1869 


Total 162,927,382 pounds 


1879 


Total 243,157,850 pounds 


1889 


On farms 18,726,818 pounds 




In factories 238,035,065 pounds 




Total . 256,761,883 pounds 


1899 


On farms 16,372,330 pounds 




In factories 281,972,324 pounds 




Total 298,344,654 pounds 


1909 


On farms 9,405,864 pounds 




In factories 311,126,317 pounds 




Total 320,532,181 pounds 



318 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



Comparing the figures of 1899 with those of 1909, it is 
seen that tlie total production of cheese in the United 

States increased 22,187,5^9 
pounds, or an increase of 7.4 
per cent in 1909 over 1899. 
During the same years the 
amount made on the farms 
decreased 6,966,454 pounds, 
or a decrease of 42.6 per 
cent, while the amount 
made in factories increased 
29,153,933 pounds or 10.3 
per cent. 

303. Rank of the leading 
cheese-producing states. — 
Tlie rank of the leading 
cheese states according to 
the number of factories in 
1914 was : Wisconsin 1720, 
New York 995, INIichigan 
196, Ohio 111, Pennsylvania 
106. 

The table on the opposite 
page (Table XXI) shows 
the amount of cheese pro- 
duced by the fi^'e states 
with the largest number of 
factories. This table indi- 
cates that New York led in 
the production of cheese 
until some time between 1899 and 1909. This is proba- 
bly because, New York having so many cities, the demand 
for market milk is so large that it is sold as such instead 




Fig. 66. — Showing the cheese fac- 
tories in the Pacific coast states. 



THE CHEESE INDUSTRY IN AMERICA 319 



X 
X 

w 



Q 
O 

a 

w 

p:; 
a 

Eh 

n 



H 

cc 



w 
U 

O 
El 



o 

<5 

a 

E-i 

o 

% 
o 
w 







i-O Tt< i.O -o CO 




S "^ 


^ fM 't O 1^ 


^ 


.So'5 


ci o -H c; >o 


o 




o -t »^' t^' c« 




C) <-i O T-i o 


5 


2 2'S 


Cl CO CI t^ oo 


H 


_§i? 


• O 1 - CO 00 ■*' 


K^ 


•a« 


O Oi 1-H .-H 

CI 






O l^ '-0 -f CO 






^ -t CO CO r-H 


e 
d 


d 


C; 05 CO rjj t- 


S o 


o -t co' co' -o' 

Q X t^ t^ t^ 

O "O '-C ^_^ o 
cc iO CO of of 


>< 


<; 


-Tf Q 1— 1 i-H .-H 






00 't* (Z) GO o 


g 




a> 00 lo CI -H 


^d 


M lO t^ »o o 


00 


m 




11 


-t O CO CO 'f 




"TD -H lO O OJ 


e 


it 


CO O 1- CO -H 


bi 


ci d d d ^' 


^ 


<: 


t^ CO --H I-H 1-( 

1— ( 






— 1 Tt4 O '^ t^ 






O C> O iC OS 


°2 


a 


OO »0 •* O 00^ 


00 


2 o 


■* o' d' ■*' h-' 




^ 00 t^ »0 lO 


% 


O O CO Ol^ Tf 


H 


aa 


-t -t i-o' of i-O 


tH 


-< 


<0 01 Ol 

l-H 






't -t O CO 1^ 






CI ^ X CO CO 




E3 


CO 1- O 'O I-_^ 


O) 


|1 

2 o 

aa 


i.o' co' co' ^ o 




CO '-0 lO CO o 


S 
." 


lO ^H 05 "O 05 

d d co" of oo' 


>< 


<; 


^ O) CO 






^ Ol ^ -O 'X) 






CO ^ o t- t^ 


s 


fl 


1.0 o CO oq CO 


oo 


il 


oo d --H co' of 
CO 1- oi lo o 


» 


i° 


Ol t- CO^ --H t--.^ 


>< 


a a 
< 


co' q' of "^ of 

l-H 






Q 03 r^ CO CO 

O X 05 05 lO 


0> 
00 


_g 


■^13 


C0_^ Ol^ X oo_^ uo 


•^ 


3 


-f' co' --H oo' oo' 


K 


o 2 


C> ^ Tt* 1-1 O 

1-H lO CO_^ CO_^ iO 




a a 


>< 


-»; 


l-H 00 'H ^"' of 

■* CJ 


u 






H 




M O CS 









320 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



of being manufactured into cheese. There is about the 
same number of milch cows in New York and Wisconsin. 
However, Wisconsin is credited with more cheese in 1909 
than New York ever produced and this output probably 
will increase, as there are considerable areas of undeveloped 
agricultural land in Wisconsin. It is also interesting to 
note that Ohio is falling off in cheese production. This 
may be due to the increased demand for market milk. On 
the other hjind, production has increased in Pennsyhania. 
304. Exportation and importation of cheese by the 
United States. — The accompanying table shows the ex- 



Mil 


lion 


s 






































Po 


und 


s 






































300 








. 


























































n<^ 


y 














250 




















\ 


kO< 


>0^' 


































,/ 








r 
















200 
















/ 






































/ 




























150 










0,\ 


/ 




































^ 


^ 










, /^ 






















100 








/ 










/ 


^ 


^ 


-1 
































/ 










\ 
















50 












^ 


/' 














X 


\ 








/ 


A 










^ 


X 




















\ 


■^L' 




^/ 


'\ 








— 


^ 




L 








Jm 


port 


s 












\ 


/ 





1850 1860 1870 years 1890 1900 1910 

Fig. 67. — Showing relationship of total production, exports and 
imports of cheese. 

ports and imports of cheese from 1851 to 1916 and their 
values, in so far as the figures are available. 

One noteworthy item in Table XXII is that the exports 
have gradually decreased and imports increased. This 



THE CHEESE INDUSTRY IN AMERICA 321 



TABLE XXII 

Showing the Imports and Exports op Cheese by the 
United States from 1851-1916 



Year 



1851 
1852 
1853 
1854 
1855 
1856 
1857 
1858 
1859 
1860 
1861 
1862 
1863 
1864 
1865 
1866 
1867 
1868 
1869 
1870 
1871 
1872 
1873 
1874 
1875 
1876 
1877 
1878 
1879 
1880 
1881 
1882 
1883 
1884 
1885 



Imports 



Amount in 
pounds 

603,398 

514,337 

874,949 

969,417 

1,526,942 

1,384,272 

1,400,252 

1.589,066 

1,409,420 

1.401.161 

1.090.835 

594,822 

545 966 

836,127 

985,362 

1,738,657 
2,997,994 



6,243,014 
6,247,560 



Value in dollars 



Exports 



Amount in 
pounds 

10,361,189 

6,650,420 

3,763,932 

7,003,974 

4,846,568 

8,737,029 

6,453,072 

8,098,527 

7,103,323 

15,515,799 

32,361,428 

34,052,678 

42,045,054 

47,751,329 

53,154,318 

36,411,985 

52,352,127 

51,097,203 

39,900,367 

57,296,327 

63,698,867 

66,204,025 

80,366,540 

90,611,077 

101,010,853 

97,676,264 

107,364,666 

123,783,736 

141,654,474 

127,553,907 

147,995,614 

127,989,782 

99,220,467 

112,869,575 

111,992,990 



Value in dollars 



322 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



TABLE XXII Continued 



Year 


Imports 


Exports 




Amount in 
pounds 


N'alue in dollars 


Amount in 
pounds 


Value in dollars 


1880 
1887 
1888 
1889 
1890 
1891 
1892 
1893 
1894 
1895 
1890 
1897 
1898 
1899 
UXX) 
IWl 
190-2 


0.309.124 

0.592.192 

8.750.185 

8.207.021) 

9.203.573 

8.803.040 

8.305.288 

10.195,924 

8.742.851 

10.270.293 

10.728.397 

12.319.122 

10.012.188 

11.820.175 

13.455,9W 

15,329,099 

17.007.714 




91.877.235 
81.255.994 
88.008.458 
84,999,828 
95,370,053 
82,133.870 
82.UK).221 
81.350.923 
73.852.134 
00.448.421 
30.777.291 
50.944.017 
53.107.280 
38.198.753 
48.419.353 
39,813,517 
27,203,184 
































































$2,551,300 


S2.745.,597 


liH)3 


20,071,384 


3,183,224 


18,987,178 


2.250,229 


HH)4 


22.707,103 


3,281,811 


23,335.172 


2,452,239 


1W5 


23.095,705 


3,379,000 


10.134.424 


1,084,044 


11X)0 


27.280.800 


4,303.8.30 


10.502.451 


1,940,020 


1^)7 


33,848,700 


5,704,012 


17.285.230 


2,012,020 


1908 


32,530,8;X) 


5,580,700 


8.439.031 


1.092.0.-)3 


11X)9 


35,548,143 


5,800,154 


0.822.842 


857.091 


1910 


40,817,524 


7,053.570 


2,840,709 


441.017 


1911 


45,508,797 


7.920.244 


10,300,005 


1,288.279 


1912 


40,542,IX)7 


8,807.249 


0,337,559 


898.035 


1913 


49.387.944 


9,185,184 


2,599,058 


441.180 


1914 


03.784.313 


11,010,093 


2,427,577 


414.124 


1915 


50.138.520 


9,370.048 


55,302,917 


8 403.174 


1910 


30,087,999 


7,058,420 


44.394,301 


7,430,089 



is probably because immigrants have demanded the cheeses 
of their native country which were not made in America. 
The exports for the years 1915 and 1916 are interesting 



77//'; CJIICI'JSK INUUSTItV IN AMERICA 32.3 

as they sliovv tlio cflcrt of tlie war ow the chcf^se iiulustry, 
the imports being gradually decreased and the exports 
greatly iiif-rcascd. 

'J'he graph (Fig. 07; represents the total prorJuftifjn 
and th(; cxjKjrts and inip<;rts of eheese into th(; l'nit(;d 
St;itcs. 

305. Average yearly price of cheese. TIk; following 
table shows the average yearly jjrice of Cjheddar cheese 
in the United States: 

TABLE XXIII 



Showing the Avkuaok YEAiiLy Pjuce of Cheese, 1892-1910 



Yeab 
1S92 

w.r.i 

1S94 

is9<; 

1S97 
ISOS 
1S99 

I'M) I 
l!Kr2 
l'K« 
1!K)4 
1(K).'> 
HXHi 
HX)7 
VM)H 
1W)9 
1910 
1911 
1912 

i<n:i 

1914 
191.^> 
1910 



Cbntb 

9.4 

9.4 

9.7 

9.1 

8.4 

9.1 

8.6 

8.6 

10.2 

9.9 

10.1 

11.9 

lO.r, 

10.7 

11.7 

11.0 

12.9 

12.6 

15.5 

12.4 

14.2 

17.0 

17.1 

ir,M 

10.7 



324 



THE ROOK OF CHEESE 



The graph (Fig. (58) shows that the a\'erage yearly 
price has increased from 9.4 cents a pound to 16.7 cents. 



1 a 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14. 15 16 \7 Cents 



1892 
1895 



1900 



1905 



1910 



1915 
years 



Fig. 68. — Average yearly price of cheese. 

306. Canadian cheese statistics. — The following statis- 
tics show the development of the industry in Canada. 
The figures in Table XXIV show the number of cheese 
factories, the amount t)f milk received and the total 
production in Canada. 

Table XXIV indicates that the number of cheese fac- 
tories has decreased but that the production has increased. 
Because of the scarcity of figures, conclusions would not 
be accurate. 

The figures in Table XXV of the exports and imports 
show that the exports gradually decreased and the imports 
increased. If the production has increased, as shown in 
Table XXIV, more cheese must be consumed by the 











1 




















































































































































































































































T 




























































^^ 
































1 


























,- 








































\ 






















■-v 










































^/ 


























~..^ 






































































~~- 






































_. 






























•*' 
















































































I 




































" 





























































































































































THE CHEESE INDUSTRY IN AMERICA 325 

Canadians. The effect of the war is probably seen in 
the year 1916, when the imports are decreased and the 
exports increased. 

TABLE XXIV 

Showing the Number of Cheese Factories, Amount of 
Milk Received and the Factory Production of 
Ch'bese 



Year 


Number op 
Cheese Facto- 
ries 


PonNDS OF Milk 
Delivered 


Factory Production 
OF Cheese 


1900 
1907 
1910 
1915 
1916 






220,833,269 

204,788,583 
199,904,205 
183,887,837 
192,968,597 






2291 
1871 
1813 




1,501,946,221 
1,503,997,215 



TABLE XXV 

Showing the Amount and Value of Canadian Exports and 
Imports of Cheese 



Year 


Exports 


Imports 


1880 
1890 
1900 
1910 
1911 
1912 
1913 
1914 
1915 
1916 


Amount in pounds 

40,368,000 
94,260,000 
185,984,000 
180,859,000 
181,895,000 
163,450,000 
155,216,000 
144,478,000 
137,601,000 
168,961,000 


Value in dollars 

$3,893,000 
9,372,212 
19,856,324 
21,607,692 
20,739,507 
20,888,818 
20,697,000 
18,866,000 
19,213,000 


Amount in 
pounds 

683,778 

866,653 

919,189 

1,495,758 

1,512,108 

1,162,456 

971,821 


Value in 
dollars 



















82() '/'//a; hook of ciikksk 

ir (lie ((i|;il |)()|)iil;il ion of (lie I'liilcd SImIcs is li^iircd 
,-it KM) million .'irid (he (lillciciicc ltd w ecu (lie cxporls 
.111(1 iiiipoils roiiiid 1)11(1 iiddcd lo I lie lotid |)r(>(lii('(ioii, ii 
shows (liii( llic iiAcnip' person nnisl consuinc ;d)ou( (hrco 
and one-liair |)onnds of cliccsc in a year. 

In (lie pasi lew years (here has heen considerable de- 
niatid for more of (lie foreign cheeses, such as Camemhert 
and {{(xinefort. 

307. Introduction of cheese-making into new regions. 

The mamilacl nre ol < licddar cheese is Ix^iii;;' encom'aj^'ed 
in new regions, in (he Alle;;hany l\lomi(ains, in \'ir^inia, 
\Ves( \ ir^'inia, Nordi ('arolina, TtMrnessee and in (he 
\ves(ern s(a(es. There has also spianifi,' n|) a considerable 
demand Tor (he lac(ic acid j;roiip of cheeses, especially 
N(Mircha(el and ('o( (a|i,«', so (ha( while ( he cheese in(liis(ry 
may decline in cei(ain sec(ions. (he (o(al |)ro(hic(ion will 
|)n)l)al)ly increase. In (he proper loca(ioiis or see(ioiis, 
(he cheese indns(ry has a Ncry hri^ld lidnre. The dcxcl- 
opmen( of ( he skinnncd-milk cheeses will nndoul)(fdly he 
j;i\('ii considcraMc a((en(ion in (he ne\( lew years. 

(vKI'-KlllONCKH 

N. Y. D(>i)(. Ajjfr. Itiil. r>l, 'i'li(> Dairy (iiduslry in New N'oi k StiUc. 
N. Y. l'n»(iiir(i Ivtu'. nnd Amcriciin I'reaiiiery. 

Vol. ;M. No. ;<, |)n+re (OS. 

Vol. :i7, No. ((■>. l)n.K(^ ()S(. 

V(»[. :{7. No. (»■>, piiKc (>(•)(•». 

Vol. :{7, No. •.», piiirc (11. 
Vol. :<:<, No. II, piiijo IS'J. 

Vo(. :»■., No. '1\\, \n\v:i^ 1()7S. 
Wis. Kxp. Sdi. 1{(>I>I. IS'.I7, piin<«s \\:\ (('.). 
U. S. (\misiih. 

U. S. l)cp». A^,'r. Yt>Mr hooi^s. 
lliM'(>)iii of Kon>i>;ii iiiul Doiiit'slic ('ommcrci*. 
SliiMsticjil !il)s(ni('l of (lit* 1 1. S. 
('iiiiiKliaii Dt'pl. ;\f^r. (".)(.'">, Ivcpoil ol' llic (!;iiry and cold slonijro 

(•omiiiissioiH>r. 
Doiiiiiiioii of t^aJiadii, (\'iisiis and S(alisti('s olli('<>, (vcpl. 1915. 



CIIAPTRR XTX 
TI':STIN(J 

In (•()iiii<'<'li<)ii will) iiiiirkctin^, !i, ccrliiiii nriiounl of 
testing of llic products should Kc pruclircd, 1o dclcniiinc 
exactly the results iiiid grades ol" prochuls. This iiichidcs 
the testing of the whole milk, whey ;iiid elieese for fut, 
the uiilk for enseiii, ;md the cheese for moisture, in 
fjictories in which the uiilh is hoiight on the f;il h.-isis, 
it is necessary to test each |)iitron's milk for hit. If I here 
is a cheese-moisture law in ihe state, it is necessary to 
test for inoistun-. 'I'he v\ hey should Ix' tested to learn 
the loss of fiit in the mjinuhteturing process arid to ascertiiin 
whether the losses have been rcducc<l to the minimum. 

308. The fat test, -'i'he test comin(»nly used to de- 
termine the fat in milk is known as the Hahcock. Tin; 
principle of this test is as follows: Vnt exists in tiic form 
of very small glohnles. Because the fat, glohiilcs are lighter 
than th(! other milk constituents, under the influcnc(; of 
the force of gravity most of them rise to the surface. 
'^I'here, mixed with the other milk siihstances, these glob- 
ules form a layer of cream. Hahcock found that by add- 
ing to the milk sulfuric acid of proper strength and 
temperature, the casein, the milk-sugar and the albumin 
are decomposed and the sticky (piality of th<! milk is 
destroyed. The acid does not decompose the fat but 
leaves it free to come to the surface of t he mixt lu'c. ( 'nder 

327 



328 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



centrifugal force, this fat is quickly brought to the surface. 
By using a known quantity of milk and having a scale 
graduated in percentage of the amount of milk, the 
percentage of fat can be determined. Fig. 69 shows 
the necessary equipment. 

There are three kinds of bottles employed in making 
the test, one with a very large neck which is used when 
testing materials high in fat-content such as cream. 




ApiKii alil.^ II 



■.ssary to test milk and \sln> lur lab aiitl 
total solids. 



butter and cheese. This is generally called a cream- 
test bottle. It is graduated from to 50 j)er cent. 
When testing materials with a small amount of fat 
such as whey, skim-milk and buttermilk, a test bottle 
with two necks is used, one with a small bore for the fat 
and the other neck with a larger bore to add the milk, 
acid, water. It is graduated from to 0.5 of 1 per cent. 
There is a third bottle between the other two to test 



TESTING 329 

whole milk. This is known as a whole-milk bottle. It 
is ^ra(Juate<^l from to 8 per cent. All of the glass- 
ware should (•omj)ly with the laws. 

309. Sampling the milk. — One of the most important 
parts of testing is to obtain a fair sample of the milk. 
The milk to be tested may be in a vat or in a farmer's 
can or a composite sample jar. If the milk is bought 
on the fat basis, that of each patron is not tested daily, 
but a small quantity, about half an ounce, is taken 
each day and placed in a jar ; this is known as a com- 
posite sample. It is the usual practice to number the 
patrons and have a sample bottle for each patron with 
his number on it. Some sul)stance must be added to 
preserve the milk and to keep it from souring or coagu- 
lating. It is difficult to secure a fair samj)le of sour milk. 
A wide-mouthed jar is ])referred for keeping milk samples. 
This must be kept closed to prevent evaporation. Each 
day when milk is added to the composite sample, the 
bottles should be shaken to prevent the cream drying. 
Composite samples are tested at least twice a month. 
The milk may be mixed to obtain a fair sample, by stir- 
ring in the vat or by pcjuring from one bottle to another. 
Vigorous shaking should be avoided as this is likely to cause 
churning. One should see that all the cream is removed 
from the sides of the samj)le bottle and that it is evenly 
distributed through the milk. The sample of milk is 
now measured out with the pipette. This is graduated 
to deliver 18 grams of milk, and holds 17.6 c.c. Hold the 
pipette between the thumb and second finger of the right 
hand with the tij) below the surface of the milk, draw the 
milk by suction with the lips until it is filled well above 
the graduation. Quickly place the ff)refinger over the 
opening and at right angles to the pipette. By gently 



330 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

and carefully raising the forefinger, allow the milk to run 
down until the surface is exactly level with the gradua- 
tion. To obtain an accurate reading, the pipette should 
be on a level with the eye. Then with the left hand, 
hold the milk test bottle in a slanting position and place 
the tip of the pipette into it about one-third of an inch 
and at a slight angle. Now let the milk slowly flow down 
the side of the neck of the bottle, making certain that 
none is blown out by the escaping air. When all has run 
out of the pipette, blow out the drop which remains in 
the tip. Then measure out another sample in the same 
way, as the test should be made in duplicate. 

310. Adding the acid. — The sulfuric acid should have 
a specific gravity between 1.82 and 1.83. It should 
be kept in glass-stoppered bottles or carboys to prevent 
the absorption of moisture from the air, which will reduce 
its strength. Acid that is too strong might burn the fat. 
The acid is a strong poison and will burn if it comes in 
contact with the flesh or the clothing. In such case, it 
should be removed by washing with plenty of water. An 
alkaline substance such as ammonia or bicarbonate of soda 
should be applied to remove any acid not washed away. 

The acid measure holds 17.5 c.c. and it should be filled to 
the graduation. Then this acid should be added to the test 
bottle. The bottle should be held at an angle and slowly 
rotated so that the acid will rinse down any milk remain- 
ing in the neck of the bottle. Immediately mix the acid 
and milk by whirling the body of the bottle in a circle five or 
six inches in diameter. The mixture should not be allowed 
to go into the neck of the bottle while mixing. Continue 
shaking for about a minute after all the curd has disap- 
peared. One should avoid pointing the neck of the bottle 
toward any person in the mixing operation. The acid 



TESTING . 331 

unites with all the milk substances except the fat and 
generates much heat. 

311. Centrifuging. — There are two machines in com- 
mon use for centrifuging, one that runs by mechanical 
power and the other smaller and runs by hand. If the 
machine and atmosphere are very cold, the apparatus 
can be warmed by placing hot water in it. This is not 
necessary in a steam machine. In a factory where there 
are a number of samples to test, a power machine is usually 
employed. In this machine there are pockets or cups in 
which to set the test bottles. The machine or disk 
must be balanced by placing bottles in opposite pockets. 
These pockets are hinged so that when standing still the 
bottle is in an upright position and when the centrifuge 
is running, it is in a horizontal position. The machine 
should then be covered and started running. It should 
be run at the speed indicated. After five minutes, stop 
the machine and fill the bottles with boiling water up to 
the neck. This can be done without taking the bottles 
out of the machine. A pipette or slender-spouted vessel 
may be used to add the water. Whirl the bottles two 
minutes, then add more boiling water to bring the fat 
column into the graduated part of the neck of the bottle. 
Then whirl one minute. The test should be read at once 
or the bottles kept at a temperature of 130° to 140° F. until 
ready to read. 

312. Reading the test. — To read the test, subtract 
the reading at the bottom of the fat column from that 
at the highest point. The curved meniscus which always 
forms at the top of the fat coluilin should be included 
in the reading. Duplicate samples should not vary more 
than 0.2 of 1 per cent. Standard Babcock test bottles 
and pipettes should always be used. In some states the 



332 THE HOOK of cheese 

agricultunil rxiH-rlmcnt stations oxaminc all glassware 
and mark it to niako ccTtain tliJit it conforms to tlic ro- 
(luiixMuonts of tlio state hiw. In New York, <;lasswar(' 
fonnd to he corroct is branded " S. B.," wliicli means 
State Brand. In some states a person mnst liaA'e a 
license to test milk or crc^am, when it is })ai(l for on the 
fat t(>st. Such a piTson nuist i)ass an examination to 
show that he understands the test l)efor«> a license will he 
<j;rantcd. The liciMisc may he revoked if the work is not 
honestly ptTl'ormcd. 

313. Testing whey for fat. — Because of the small 
amount of fat in whey, it is diilicult to obtain a r(>|)re- 
sentati\'c sample. The best way, if tlu> entir(> amount 
caiuiot \)v |)la<(Ml in a \at and stirnMJ, is to catch a little 
of the whe>' at iuter\als as it is bciui;- drawn from the vat. 
Tlu> sam])le to hv test(Hi is measuRMl with the pip(>tte 
tlu> same as the milk and plac(>d in tlu> skiuuned-milk tc^st 
bottlt\ The same acid is used to test whey as to t(>st 
milk but because there are not so many solids to destroy, 
not so nuich is used. If as nuich acid is used with whey 
as with milk, it will burn the fat and so iut(>rfere with 
the reading:; of the test. Just enough acid is added to 
destroy the milk substances except the fat, or enoujih to 
turn the contents of the test bottle dark brown. This 
usually recpiircs (illing the acid measure one-quarter of 
an inch nnd(>r the j^Taduatiou. The remainder of the 
test is the sam(> as for whol(> milk. 

314. Testing cheese for fat. — The sami)le of cheese 
to test for fat is obtained by removing the sani])le with a 
cheese-trier. This sample is called a " plug." Dilfereut 
plugs from the same cheese will test various percentages 
of fat so that it is diilicult to secure a representative 
sample. The usual practice is to take three plugs, one 



TESTING 



333 



iicjir the center, another iicur the outside and the third 
between t\n\ first two. TFie plugs slioiild he ]>ut into 
glass-stopjxTcd bottles to prevent th(! evaporation of 
rnoistun-. 'i'liese {)lugs are th(;n v\\()\)\)vi\ up very fine. 
It is of course; impossible; to measure tlu; cheese as with 
milk and whey, but it is w<Mghed (l*'i^. 70). If the cheese 
is soft it can be stirred with a sj)atiil;i, until well mixed. 
A soft cheese usually sticks to the neck of the test l)ottIe. 




I''ii;. 70. - A|)|>!iratuH uettcHHury to U'.ni chcoHO foe In!,. 

After being weighed, it can be dissolvcid in a little sodium 
hydroxide and poured into tlie bottle. I )iircrent amounts 
may be used, corrunonly 1^ or (i grams, but b grams is to be 
})referred. This is i)la(;ed in the JJabcock cream bottle since 
there will usually be more fat than can be read in a milk 
bottle. After the material has been j)lac(;d in the test 
bottle, about two-thirds of an acid-measure of warm 
water is add(;d to assist in dissolving the cheese;. 

The aeicJ is added the same as with the milk. If all 



334 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

the cheese particles are not destroyed, and therefore do 
not disappear, a Httle more acid will complete the solu- 
tion. Centrifuging is performed as with the milk. 

315. Reading the test. — In a cream-test bottle the 
neck is so much wider that there is a much larger meniscus. 
In order to obtain an accurate result, the meniscus should 
be removed. This is done by carefully adding a substance 
called glymol, which is a mineral oil colored red. Usually 
about one-quarter of an inch of glymol is added to the 
fat column. This should not mix with the fat. The 
bottles should be placed in a hot water bath 135° to 140° F. 
for four minutes before reading. The temperature at 
reading should be 135° to 140° F. The reading is then 
taken from the bottom of the fat column to the line 
between this and the glymol. The bottle is graduated 
for 18 grams of material, but as only a part of IS grams 
of cheese was used for the test, the reading should be 
multiplied by the part of 18 grams used. For example, 
suppose G grams of cheese were used and the test read 
12 per cent fat. Since G is one third of 18, the actual 
percentage of fat is 3 times 12, or 3G per cent. 

316. The Hart ^ casein test was devised to determine 
the percentage of casein in milk. A special test bottle 
and centrifuge are necessary. The method of making 
the test is as follows : Place 2 c.c. of chloroform in 
the casein test tube, add 20 c.c. of a 0.25 of 1 per 
cent solution of acetic acid at a temperature of G5° to 
75° F. This solution of acetic acid is made by dilut- 
ing 10 c.c of glacial acetic acid with 100 c.c. of water, 
then dilute 25 c.c. of this solution to 1000 c.c. with water ; 
5 c.c. of milk at a temperature of 05° to 75° F. is then run 

^ Hart, E. B., A simple test for casein in milk and its relation 
to the dairy industry, Wis. Exp. Sta. Bui. 15G, pages 1-22, 1907. 



TESTING 



335 



into the bottle. The bottle is then covered with the 
thumb and inverted and the mixture shaken vigorously 
for exactly twenty seconds. It is then centri- 
fuged within twenty minutes at a speed of 
2000 revolutions a minute. The bottle should 
stand ten minutes before reading the per- 
centage of casein. There are other tests for 
casein but they are very complicated. 

317. Solids in the milk. — Because not only 
the fat but all the solids are utilized in cheese- 
making, it is important to know the amount 
of the solids in the milk. This is ascertained 
by determining the specific gravity of the 
milk and knowing the fat-content ; the solids 
not fat can then be calculated. 

318. The lactometer. — The specific gravity 
of liquids is measured by an instrument 
called a hydrometer. Its use is based on 
the fact that when a solid body floats in a 
liquid, it displaces a volume of liquid equal 
in weight to its own. Hydrometers are in 
many cases so made that the specific gravity 
can be read at the point where the scale is 
even with the upper surface of the liquid. A 
hydrometer that is especially adapted to milk 
is called a lactometer. There are two lac- 
tometers in common use, the Quevenne and 
the Board of Health. 

The Quevenne lactometer. — This is a long 
slender hollow piece of glass weighted at the 
bottom to make it float in the milk in an upright position 
(Fig. 71) . The upper end is slender and contains the scale. 
This scale is graduated from 15 at the top to 40 at the 



Fig. 71. — a 
Quevenne 
lactometer. 



336 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



bottom. Each reading on the scale corresponds to the 
point marked specific gra^'ity on a hydrometer, except that 
the figures are not complete. For example, 15 
on the Quevenne scale means a specific gravity 
of 1.015; a reading of oO on the Quevenne 
scale means a specific gravity of 1 .0)^0, and so 
on. The Quevenne lactometer is graduated 
to give correct results at a temperature of 
60° F. The milk should be at this temper- 
ature. If the temperature is below or above 
this, a correction nuist be made to the read- 
ing. The temperature should not be more 
than 10 degrees above or b{>low 60° F. The 
correction for each degree in ^■ariation of tem- 
perature can be made by adding 0.1 or sub- 
tracting 0.1 from the lactometer reading, as 
the case may be. If the temi)erature is above 
G0° F., the correction is added to the lactom- 
eter and if it is below 60° F., the correction 
is subtracted from the lactometer reading. 
The reading should be taken when the lac- 
tometer is floating free in the milk. The 
scale is read exactly at the surface of tiie milk. 
The better lactometers have a thermometer 
with the scale just above or opposite the 
lactometer scale. 

The Board of Health lactometer. — This is 

very similar to the Que\enne lactometer 

Health lac- exccj^t that the scale is graduated from to 

tometcr. j^o (Fig. 72). The point on the scale of the 

lactometer that floats at the surface in water is represented 

by 0, and 100 represents the specific gravity of 1.029. On 

the Board of Health lactometer, the 100 degrees or divi- 



TESTING 337 

sioiis from to 100 equal 29 divisions on the Quevenne. 
TlieiTl'ore, one division on the IJoard of Health equals 
0.29 of a division on the Quevenne. To convert Board of 
Health reading to Quevenne, multiply by 0.29 and to 
convert Quevenne to Board of Health, divide by 0.29. 
The correction for temperatures above or below 00° F. 
is made the same as with the Quevenne, except 0..'^) is 
added or subtracted from the reafling instead of 0.1 as 
with the (Quevenne. 

319. Calculating the solids not fat in the milk. — When 
the lactometer readiufi; and fat-content of the milk are 
known, there are several formulas for calculating,' the 
solids not fat. In the following formulas, L equals Que- 
venne lactometer reading at ()0° F., and F equals the 
percentage of fat in the milk : 

= S.N.F. 
4 

- + 0.2 F + 0.14 = S.N.F. 
4 

320. Testing cheese for moisture.' — There are two 
methods of testing cheese for moisture. The following 
is a simple test devised by II. C. Troy : 

The ordinary butter moisture test, in which a metal 
cup is heated over a flame, cannot be used for determining 
the percentage of water in cheese because the high tem- 
perature developed in operating that test drives from 

1 Sammis, J. L., Tho moisture test in the cheese factory, 
Wis. Kxp. Sta. Circ. 81, 1<)17. 

Troy, H. C, A chisese moisture test, N. Y. (Cornell) Exp. 
Sta. Ext. Bui. 17, 1917. 




338 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

the cheese other substances with the water. Also, par- 
ticles are lost by spattering when the cheese is heated 
with any degree of rapidity in the shallow butter-moisture 
cups. To overcome these difficulties, the new method 
here described has been developed for the purpose of 
determining the percentage of moisture in cheese. The 
a})})aratus consists of : 

1 double-walled coj)per drying cu]) 

1 centigrade thermometer registering to 200° 

1 alcohol lamp 

1 tripod 

1 special flask 

1 scales sensitive to 0.01 gram 

I set t)f weights, 0.01 to 100 grams 

The bt)dy of the co])])cr drying cup may be made in 
two parts. One of the i)arts is a jacket that forms the 
outer wall of the apparatus. It has a flat bottom 4| 
inches in diameter, and the i)er])endicular wall is 4| 
inches in height. The inner part of the cup must have 
a flat bottom 2f inches in diameter and a side wall 3^ 
inches high. A flange attached to the upper rim of the 
inner ])art extends out at right angles to the cuj) wall and 
forms a cover for the space bet\\(>en the walls when the 
two parts are put together. The flange is IxMit down 
around its outer edge to make it fit snugly ()\er the ui)i)er 
rim of the outer jacket. It thus holds the inner cup 
securely in ])lace, leaving a s])ace about } inch wide for 
oil between the walls and bottoms, and ])ermits the 
apparatus to be taken a])art readily. A circular o])ening 
about I inch in diameter is made through the flange to 
permit the insertion of a thermometer for taking the 
temperature of the oil or the melted fat which is used in 



TESTING 339 

the space between the walls. Lartl or tallow serves best 
for use in this space ; a readily inflammable oil should 
not be employed. The thermometer may be permanently 
held in place by passing it simgly through a hole bored 
in a cork, the cork being then fitted into the hole through 
the flange. A flat metal cover is placed on the cup 
when making a test. This cover has a hole through 
the center just large enough to permit the neck of the 
drying flask to extend up through it. The cover assists 
in keeping the body of the flask at a constant temperature 
by preventing the entrance of cold air currents. The 
thermometer should register changes in temperature 
between zero and 200° C. The alcohol lamp should yield 
a flame about \ inch in diameter and f inch high. The 
tripod should be about 6 inches high and of proper diam- 
eter at the top to support the oil bath. 

An ordinary flat-bottom glass Erlenmeyer flask, of 
such a diameter as to fit neatly into the oil-bath cup, may 
be used to hold the cheese during the drying operation ; 
but a special glass flask serves better. It is made with 
a flat bottom 2}^ inches in diameter, which will fit into 
the cup of the drying apparatus. The side walls of this 
flask should be perpendicular for about 1 inch, when 
they should begin to slope in toward the base of the 
neck, which should be located about 2 inches above the 
bottom. The neck of the flask should be 1 inch in diam- 
eter, with perpendicular walls, and its length should give 
the flask a total height of 4f inches. When the apparatus 
(Fig. 73) is put together for the first time, the melted fat 
or oil may be placed in the outer jacket and the inner 
cup may then be fitted into position, or the parts may 
be put together first and the oil then poured into the 
space between the cup walls through the opening where 



340 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

the thermometer is to be placed. The oil should fill 
the space to within an inch of the top. The cork through 
which the thermometer has been passed is then fitted 
into the opening. The thermometer bulb should be 
placed in the oil about half an inch above the bottom of 
the outer jacket. The apparatus is then placed on the 




Fig. 73. — Apparatus necessary to test cheese for moisture. 

tripod over the alcohol lamp. A flame | inch in diameter 
and f inch high will give sufficient heat to hold the bath 
at the proper temperature. The temperature may be 
regulated by raising or lowering the lamp or by changing 
the size of the flame by adjusting the wick. Hundreds 
of tests may be run without taking the apparatus apart 



TESTING 341 

or changing the oil. The copper drying cup can be made 
by any tinsmith. The other parts may be ordered 
through any dairy or chemical supply company. 

In operating the test, the alcohol lamp is first lighted, 
so that the oil bath may be warming while the test sample 
is under preparation. A representative sample of the 
cheese, which may be taken with a cheese-trier and held 
in a glass-stoppered sample jar, is then cut into particles 
about the size of kernels of wheat without removing it 
from the jar. This may be accomplished with an ordinary 
table knife that has had the end squared and sharpened. 
The clean dry flask is then accurately balanced on the 
scales and a 5-gram weight is placed in the opposite scale 
pan. Particles of cheese from the prepared sample are put 
into the flask until the scales comes to an exact balance. 
Great care should be taken to avoid loss of moisture 
from the cheese in the preparation of the sample. 

With the thermometer in the oil bath registering 
between 140° and 145° C. (or between 284° and 293° 
F.), the flask is placed in the cup of the oil bath and 
the flat disk-shaped cover is adjusted over the ap- 
paratus. The flask should remain in the bath for fifty 
minutes, the temperature being kept between 140° and 
145° C. all the time. The flask is then removed, covered 
and allowed to cool to room temperature in a dry place. 
It is then weighed, and the quotient obtained by dividing 
the loss in weight by the original weight, multiplied by 
100, gives the percentage of water in the cheese. The 
following shows the method of computation : 

Problem : Five grams of cheese was heated until the 
water contained in it was evaporated. The remaining 
substance weighed 3.15 grams. What percentage of 
water did the cheese contain? 



342 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

Answer: 5.00 - 3.15 = 1.S5 
1.85 -^ 5 = 0.37 
0.37 X 100 = 37 (percentage of water in cheese) 

A butter-moisture scales with an extra 5-gram weight 
may be used for vveigliing out the 5 grams of cheese. If 
the scales indicates the amount of moisture in 10 grams 
of butter by jxTcentage graduations on its beam or by 
percentage weights, then it will be necessary to nniltiply 
by 2 the i)crcentage indicated by such scales or percentage 
weights when only 5 grams of cheese is used. 

Tlie moisture may be determined by weighing out a 
small sample of cheese and drying it in an oven and calling 
the loss moisture. Many such ovens have been devised. 

New York and Wisconsin have laws limiting the 
amount of water which may be incori)oratcd in (^hed- 
dar cheese. New York places the limit at 39 per cent 
and Wisconsin at 40 per cent. If the moisture-content 
is above this, the cheese must be branded adulterated. 



CHAPTER XX 
MARKETING 

Marketing is related to cheese in two ways : First, 
the j)urchase of the raw material, the milk ; and 
secondly the sale of the finished ])roduet, the cheese. 

321. Buying milk. — The method of paying for the 
milk dift'ers in the various cheese sections and factories. 
At some factories a stated j)ri('e is paid for the milk or 
the fat. This is usually in terms of 100 pounds of milk 
or for each pound of fat. This is the practice with 
concerns possessing large capital. Other factories make 
the milk into cheese and after each sale, the expenses 
necessary for operating the factory are deducted and the 
remainder of the money divided among the patrons. 
This money is divided either on the basis of the 
rmmber of pounds of milk or of fat delivered. The ques- 
tion arises as to which is the better method to buy 
milk for cheese-making, or the fairest way to divide the 
money received from a sale of cheese. 

322. Cheese jdeld basis of buying milk. — Let us sup- 
pose that at a cheese factory there were five patrons: 

(A) delivered 100 pounds of milk testing 3 per cent fat ; 

(B) 100 pounds of milk testing 3.5 per cent fat ; (C) 100 
pounds of milk testing 4.0 per cent fat ; (D) 100 pounds 
of milk testing 4.5 per cent fat ; and (E) 100 pounds of 
milk testing 5.0 per cent fat. Table XXVI shows the 

343 



344 



THK HOOK OF ClIKKSE 



actual number of pounds of clieoso containing 37 per 
cent moisture wiiicli 100 j)oun(ls of milk containing 
difi'erent percentages of fat will jiroduce. The cheese 
sold net for 20 cents a pound. 



TABLE XXVI 
Showing Payments foh Milk Bahkd on the Actual Yield 

OK Cm KIOSK 



Patron 


Pounds 

OP Milk 

Dblivicred 


Per Cent 

op Fat in 

Milk 


Yield op 
Cheese Con- 
tainino 37 % 

Moisture 


Price a 
Pound 


Amount 

Due Each 

Patkon 


A 
H 

r 
I) 


100 
100 
100 
100 
100 


3.0 
3.5 
4.0 
4.5 
5.0 


8.30 

9.45 

lO.OO 

11.74 

12.U0 


$.20 
.20 
.20 
.20 
.20 


.mi. ()(■). 

1 .89 
2.12 
2.348 

2.58 


Total 


500 


20 


52.90 . 


.20 


10.598 



This table shows the amount of money each patron 
should receive if the money were dividctl on the basis of 
the actual yield of cheese. 

323. Fat basis for payment of milk. — Let us suppose 
that the same five patrons delivered the same quantity of 
milk testing the same percentages of fat and that the 
cheese sold for the same price. A total of 20 pounds of 
fat was delivered and the cheese sold for $10,598 ; by divid- 
ing this amount by tlic pounds of fat delivered, the price 
or value of one pound of fat is found to be $.5299. Multi- 
plying the pounds of fat each patron delivered by the 
price a pound would give the amount of money dUe each 
l)atron. 



MARKETING 



345 



TABLE XXVII 

SHowiNfi Paymb:nts for Milk Based on Fat-contknt of 

Milk 



Patron 


I'OUNDS 

<)!•' Milk 
Delivered 


Per Cent 

OP Fat in 

Milk 


Pounds or Fat 
Delivered 


Value ok 

Pound of 

Fat 


Amount Dub 
Each Patron 


A 

B 
C 
D 

E 


100 
100 
100 
100 
100 


3.0 
3.5 
4.0 
4.5 
5.0 


3.0 
3.5 

4.0 
4.5 
5.0 


.1.5299 
.5299 
..5299 
..5299 
..5299 


.11. .58 
1.85 
2.12 
2.38 
2.65 



324. Weight basis or pooling method for payment of 
milk. — By this system, ciicli j)atr<)n would r('ct'iv(> iiri 
equal price for 100 ])()Uii(ls of milk. If the same supposi- 
tion is taken us before, there would be 500 i)ounds of 
milk delivered and the cheese sold for .1i)10..59; each 100 
pounds of milk would be worth $2.12. As each i)atron 
delivered an ecjual weight of milk, each would receive 
an equal amount of money, or .$2.12. 

325. Fat-plus-two method for payment of milk. — 
Some workers have thought that by adding two to the 
fat test, the division of money would l)e more nearly the 
true cheese-i)roduci(ig value of the milk. The amount 
due each j)atroii is figured as in the fat basis, except that 
two is added to the fat test and this is used as the basis 
of division. If the same supjxjsitions were used as 
before, each patron would receive the anujunt shown in 
Table XXVIII. 

326. Comparison of methods. — Th(> best way to judge 
the dillerent methods of pacing for milk is to compare 
them with the true value based on the actual cheese 
yield as shown in Table XXIX. 



346 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



TABLK XXVI II 
Showin(! P.wmknts von Milk uv K.vi'-ri-i's-'rwit Mirnions 



Patron 


Pounds 
''of Milk 
Dklivehkd 


Per Cent 

of Fat in 

Milk 


Fat Plus 
Two 


Pounds 
OF Fat 

DuLIVERlilD 


Value of 

Pound op 

Fat 


Amount 

Due Kaoh 

Patron 


A 


100 


:?.() 


5.0 


5.0 


.1i;.:^5;i 


$1.70 


n 


100 


;?.r) 


5.5 


5.5 


.:}5:i 


1.01 


r 


1(H) 


•l.O 


ti.O 


0.0 


.;i5;? 


2.12 


1) 


100 


1.") 


(5.5 


0.5 


:Ar>A 


2.2«) 


1^: 


100 


").() 


7.0 


7.0 


.;}5:i 


2.47 



T.VULK .\.\1\ 

SnOWINO THE C0MP.\R1S()N Ol'' 'I'lllO DiFFKUKNT M KTIK^OS 
OF PaYINU for MiIjK at (^IlKKSIO F.\("rC)UIKS 



Patron 


Percentaok 

OF l''A'r IN 

Milk 


Error in Payment per 100 Pounds op Milk by 


I'oolinK System 

+ $0.4li 

+ 0.2.S 

0.(H) 

- 0.2;} 

- 0.4G 


Fat Basis 


Fat-PI US-Two 
Method 


A 
B 
C 
D 
E 


;{.5 

1.0 
■1.5 

5.0 


- $o.os 

- 0.01 
0.00 

+ 0.04 
+ O.OcS 


f $0.10 

+ 0.05 

0.00 

- 0.05 

- 0.10 



A careful study of the above table shows that the pool- 
ing system is in favor of the (liury-iuaii with the poor 
milk, and that the fat basis favors tlie dairy-man with 
the ricli milk. This is (hie, of course, to the fact that the 
casein does not in(T(>;is(> in tht> milk (piite in jjroportion 
to the fat. With tlu> pooline,' system or fat basis of i)ay- 
ment, no account is taken of th(> casiMu ; but tlu> fat-plus- 
two system is an attemj)t to recoj;ni/,e i\\v casein, but 
considers the percentage of casein in all milk to be the 



MARKET/ Na 347 

same. This method is in i'iivor of the <lairy-man with 
milk low in fat, but not to the extent of tlie pooliiij^ sys- 
tem. The hitter system considers the cheese-j;ro(hicinf( 
power of all milk to he the same. It favors the dairy- 
man with low-testing milk. The fat basis for payment 
recognizes only the fat and is an advantage to the dairy- 
man with the high-testing milk but not to the extent that 
the pooling system is in favor of the low-testing milk. 
The fat-plus-two method recognizes 2 per cent of casein 
in the milk. This favors the dairy-men with low-testing 
milk. Other methods ' of paying for milk have been 
devised. Because the actual yield of cheese from the milk 
of different herds cannot be easily determined at the cheese 
factory, this method of payment cannot be employed. 
In localities in which all the dairy-men have the same 
breed of cattle and there is not a wide variation in the 
fat percentage, the fat basis is usually found to be the 
most satisfactory way to pay for the milk. 

327. Laws governing the production and sale of milk. 
— Many states have laws regulating the sanitary condi- 
tions under which the milk may be produced. These 
laws relate; principally to the condition of the stables, the 
health of the cow, the food given the cow, and the care of 
the milk. The following law ^ of Wisconsin is a good 
examj)le : 

" Adulterated milk, what constitutes. Section 4607a. Tn 
all prosecutions under the precedinf? section, or any other sec- 
tion of these statutes, or laws amendatory thereof or supple- 
mentary thereto, relating to the sal(5 of adulteratcnl milk or 
adulterated cream, the term adulterated milk shall mean : 
milk containing less than three per centum of milk fat, or milk 

^ Sammis, .J. L., Correct paym<mt for cheese factory milk by 
the Babcock t(^st. Wis. Kxp. Sta. Bui. 270, 1917. 
2 Dairy Laws of Wisconsin, 19l(), si^ctioii 4007a. 



348 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

containing loss than oight and ono-half por eontiun (if milk 
solids not fat, or milk drawn from cows within eight days boforo 
or fonr days after parturition, or milk from which any part of 
the cream has been removed, or milk which has been diluted 
with water or any other lluid, or milk to which has been added 
or into which has been intniduced any coloring matter or chemi- 
cal or preservative or deleterious or lilthy substance or any for- 
eign substance whatsoever, or milk drawn from cows kept in a 
filthy or unhealthy condition, or milk drawn from any sick or 
diseased cow or cow having ulcers or other running sores, or 
milk drawn from cows fed unwholesome food, or milk in any 
stage of putrefaction, or milk contaminated by being kept in 
stables containing cattle or other animals. The term adul- 
terated cream shall mean cream containing less than eighttH'n 
per centum of milk fat, or cream taken from milk drawn from 
cows within eight days before or four days after parturition, or 
cream from milk to which has been added or introduced any 
coloring matter or chemical or preservative or deleterious or 
filthy substance or any foreign substance whatsoever, or cream 
from milk drawn from cows kept in a filthy or unhealthy condi- 
tion, or cream from milk drawn from any sick or diseased cow 
or cow having ulcers or other running sores, or cream from milk 
drawn from cows fed unwholesome food, or cr(>am contaminated 
by being kept in stables containing cattle or other animals, or 
cream to which has been added or into which has been intro- 
duced any coloring matter or chemic^al or preservative or dele- 
terious or filthy substance or any foreign substance whatsoever, 
or cream in any stage of putrefaction, provided, that nothing in 
this act shall be construed to prohibit the sale of pasteurized 
milk or cream to which viseogen or sucrate of lime has been 
added solely for the purpose of restoring the viscosity, if the same 
be distinctly labeled in such manner as to advise the purchaser 
of its true character ; and jiroviding that nothing in this act 
shall be construed as prohibiting the sale of milk commonly 
known as ' skimmeil milk,' when the same is sold as and for 
' skimmed milk.' Milk drawn from cows within eight days 
before or four days after parturition, or milk to which has been 
added or into which has been introduced any coloring matter 
or chemical or preservative or deleterious or filthy substance, or 
milk drawn from cows kept in a filthy or unclean condition, or 



MARKETING 349 

milk drawn from any siok or disoasod cow or cow having!; ulcers 
or oth(!r runninf^ Kor(;.s, or milk drawn from cows fed unwhole- 
some food, or milk contaminated by \nAn\x, kept in stables con- 
taininf? cattle or other animals and cream from any such milk, 
or cream in any stafi;e of putrefaction are h<!reby declared to be 
unclean and unsanitary milk or unclean and unsanitary cream, 
as the case may be." 

Most states have laws which determine the legal 
standard of milk. Any one selling milk wliich does not 
meet this standard is liable to be fined. The laws of 
most states prohil)it the taking of anything from the milk 
or the adding of anything to it. "^fhis })rohil)its the skim- 
ming and watering. Skimmed-milk must be sold as such. 

328. Marketing of cheese. — There are many different 
methods ' of selhiig cheese. Each is adajjted to certain 
conditions and each has its advantages and disadvantages. 
In cheese sections, the customary method of selling is on 
the board of trade, which is the meeting of the cheese- 
buyers and factory salesmen. They meet at a given place 
at a certain day and hour each week. Every board has 
its officers. There are different ways in which a board of 
trade may be operated. In some cases there is a large 
blackboard divided into columns. In the first column, 
the salesman writes the name of the factory and the 
number and kind of cheese ofl'ered for sale. At the top of 
the other columns are the names of the different cheese- 
buyers. The president usually opens the sale at a 
stated time and asks that all cheese be placed on the 
blackboard. When this is done he states that they are 
ready to receive bids on the cheese. The buyers then 

^ Sammis, .]. L., The; improved system of selling cheese, 
Hoard's Dairyman .52 (191(j), 1.5, pages .5, 11-12. 

Hibl)ard, B. H., and A. llobson, Markets and prices of Wis- 
consin cheese. Wis. Exp. 8ta. Bui. 2.51, pages 1-5G, 1915. 



'/ 



350 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

write the price a pound they wish to pay opposite each 
lot of cheese and in the column headed by their names. 
After all the bids have been received and placed on the 
board, the presiding officer states that a certain length 
of time, usually fifteen minutes, will be given the salesman 
to withdraw his cheese if he does not think a high enough 
price has been offered; this is indicated by the sales- 
man stepping to the blackboard and erasing the factory 
name and number of boxes. At the close of the stated 
time, the presiding officer declares the cheese offered on 
the board sold to the highest bidder. The purchaser 
then gives the salesman directions for shipping. 

Sometimes a board of trade has a committee of one 
member elected by the factory salesmen and one elected 
by the cheese-buyers. These two members elect a third 
and these three constitute the price committee. This 
committee meets each week and determines what the 
price shall be. This is known as the ruling. The 
factory salesmen and cheese-buyers then try to make 
private sales. By this method no one, except the persons 
concerned, knows exactly what price is paid for the cheese. 
Usually, a price above the ruling is paid. 

At Quebec, Canada, there is a cheese-selling organi- 
zation with government assistance. On paying a certain 
fee, any cheese factory may join. All the factories 
belonging to the organization ship their cheese to a 
central cold storage where the cheeses are examined and 
graded by a government inspector. A cheese from 
each vat is tried. These cheeses are separated into 
white and colored lots, then graded according to quality. 
When the total number of cheeses in each lot is known, 
the lots are sold at auction. The purchaser must accept 
the cheese as graded. The better grades of cheese bring 



MARKETING 351 

about the same price as on the market, but the advan- 
tage lies in the selHng of the lower grades. Ordi- 
narily, the purchaser takes advantage of the salesman 
when the cheeses are undergrade. The success of this 
plan depends on the accuracy of the person grading the 
cheese. This method seems to be growing in popularity, 
because the cheese-buyer can purchase large amounts of 
cheese at one time and be sure of the quality. A small 
fee, about one- twelfth of a cent a pound, is charged for 
handling the cheese. Similar organizations are in opera- 
tion in Wisconsin. The boards of trade and selling 
organizations deal almost entirely in Cheddar cheese. 

329. Mercantile exchanges. — In the larger cities 
are exchanges where cheese is bought and sold by 
jobbers. This cheese is mostly Cheddar. The prices 
paid these jobbers tend to fix the daily price of cheese. 
These prices are published daily, for example, in New York 
Price Current. Some factories ship their cheese directly to 
these jobbers. The following are the cheese rules of the 
New York Mercantile Exchange adopted May 4, 1915 : 



CHEESE RULES OF THE NEW YORK MERCANTILE 
EXCHANGE 

Rule L At the first regular meeting of the Executive Com- 
mittee in each year, the President shall appoint, subject to the 
approval of the Executive Committee, a Cheese Committee to 
consist of seven members of the Exchange, who are known as 
members of the cheese trade, to hold office until their successors 
are appointed. It shall be the duty of the Cheese Committee 
to formulate such rules and regulations as may be necessary for 
the government of transactions between members of the Ex- 
change, and to revise the same as circumstances may require. 
Such rules and revisions shall be subject to the approval of the 
Executive Committee. 



352 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

Rule 2. All transactions in cheese between members of the 
Exchange shall be governed by the following rules, but nothing 
therein shall be construed as interfering, in any way, with the 
rights of members to make such special contracts or conditions 
as they may desire. 

Rule 3. If a sale is made from dock, or platform, or to arrive, 
the buyer shall assume the same relations toward the transpor- 
tation line by which the cheese arrives, as the seller previously 
held as regards its removal from the place of delivery within 
the time granted by such lines for that purpose. Transactions 
between members of this Exchange shall be governed as follows : 
Any member negotiating for any lot of cheese belonging to an- 
other member, the price having been agreed upon, shall examine 
such lot of cheese within twenty-four (24) hours after such nego- 
tiation takes place. Failure to examine within said time releases 
the seller from any obligations to make delivery thereafter, if he 
so wishes. 

Rule 4. In the absence of special agreement, all cheese pur- 
chased " in store " shall be understood as being ready and de- 
signed for immediate delivery , but the buyer shall have twenty- 
four hours in which to have the cheese inspected, and weight 
tested, and shall not be liable for the storage and insurance, if 
removed within two days. 

Rule 5. When cheese are sold to arrive, or from depot or 
dock, the cheese must be accepted or rejected within six business 
hours after notice of actual arrival to buyer. Business hours 
shall be understood to be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. If buyer rejects 
the same, he shall state the reasons for rejection. Should the 
rejection be considered unfair, the seller shall at once notify the 
buyer that he declines to accept such rejection ; and he may call 
for a Committee, which shall be composed of three members of 
the cheese trade ; the seller choosing one, the buyer one, and 
the third selected from the cheese trade by these two, or, they 
failing to agree, the third shall be appointed by the Chairman 
of the Committee on Cheese. The Examining Committee shall 
at once inspect the lot of cheese in dispute, sampling not less than 
five (5) per cent of each mark or factory, and they shall imme- 
diately give their decision in writing to both parties. Either party 
failing to abide by the decision of the Committee may be summoned 
by the other party before the Complaint Committee under Section 



MARKETING 353 

24 of the By-laws. The fees for each examination shall be six ($6) 
dollars, to be paid by the party adjudged to be in fault. 

Rule 6. The weight of all cheese shall be tested by a regularly 
appointed official weigher, and his certificates shall accompany 
the document conveying the title of the property. Said official 
weigher to be appointed by the Committee on Cheese, subject 
to the approval of the Executive Committee. 

Rule 7. The weigher's fee shall be twenty-five (25) cents per 
factory except where the owner requires more than ten (10) 
boxes be tested in which case the fee shall be fifty (50) cents, 
which shall be paid by the seller. 

Rule 8. Unless otherwise agreed upon in testing the weight 
of cheese, not less than five (5) boxes or more than ten (10) per 
cent of the whole lot shall be a test, and said test shall be con- 
sidered good for three (3) business days, including day test is made. 

Rule 9. In testing weights, all over and short weights shall 
be taken into the average on each particular factory. Single 
Daisies shall be tested on half pounds, Double Daisies and all 
other sizes on even pounds. 

Rule 10. Where a lot of cheese is found to test irregular in 
weights, either the buyer or seller may require the entire lot to be 
reweighed. The charge for same shall be three (3) cents per box. 

Rule 11. Boxes of cheese which may be found largely at 
variance from original weights shall not enter into the average, 
but their weight shall be separately ascertained and certified 
to by the weigher. 

Rule 12. Where sales are made, and the buyer finds damaged 
or sour cheese in excess of fifteen (15) per cent it shall be optional 
with him to refuse or receive the remainder of the lot purchased. 
But, in the event of his accepting the remainder of the lot, the 
sour or damaged cheese shall revert to the seller. 

Rule 13. The Committee on Cheese shall appoint subject 
to the approval of the Executive Committee, a Cheese Inspector 
and also a Deputy Inspector, whose duties shall be, when called 
upon by members of the Exchange, to inspect the quality and 
condition of such lots of cheese as may be required and to render 
a certificate of such inspection. Where the cheese in the lots 
are reasonably uniform in quality, the examination of 10 per 
cent of the lot shall be considered sufficient, but this shall not 
prevent the Inspector examining a larger percentage of the lot, 
2a 



354 Tifi'j HOOK OF ('iii<:i<jsi<j 

wlicii he (Iccriis it, ii(n^(>ss;iry. 'I^lic fee for inspection siiiill Ito 
lil'ty (TK)) (HUits for lots coiisist-inti; of lil'ty (fK)) box(»s or less. 
Lots (>x('('('(liM},' lil'ly (50) boxers siiiill !»»> oiui ckmiL por box, wlii(^li 
.shall b(i coIIccIihI I'l-oin iho iiuMnlx^r onUiriiiji: llio inspection. 

Kiile 11. Tlu^ Chooso luspcH'-lor's cortilicato shall bo luado 
to read as follows : 

NKW YOliK MKIU^ANTIIJO K.\(M1AN(3K 

Cheese I itsixrlorH (U'rlijicnlc 

lnsp(Hition No 

This is to certify that 1 luive this day inspected for M 

i\w I'ollowiiifj; cliec^se, now localiMJ at 

Factory and identilication marks „ 

(^naiitily in lot boxes 

(,)iiantity insp(>ctod boxes 

and lind as follows : 

Klavor 

Mody and Textnre 

(^olor 

(Condition 

Boxes , 

Grade 

Inspection cliarf;(>s .._ 

liisjicrlor 

The c(>rtilicat(' to liaxc a blank niar^,in of three incli(>s at the 
bottom, for the i)iiri)os(^ of ins(>rtinf^ sptvMru^ations of Institu- 
tions, also for cheesci sold und(>r tJie Call, so that, the Inspector 
may certify that cheese insfx-ctcd till I he reipiireinents as sp(H'.i(ied 

NKW YORK Ml<;i{(\\N^rihh; K.XCllANdK 

Oh'KlCI Al, 1 NSl'KCnON 

Number Date 



Inspector 

and the Tnspocdor shall brand one impression on both boxes 
and cheese. 

\l\i\o IC). The Weifjfher's (^crtilicale shall be made to read as 
follows : 



MAHKKTINd 355 

This is to f'.crf ify that tlic followirij^ is tlio a(!tual tost of 

boxes, out of sliiprrKUit of hoxcis 

F'aotory Mark 

MarkcHl Woif,'hts 

Actual Weights 

Loss 

Av(!ra}^o loss lbs. on box<(S 

Now York 19 

Weigher 

and tli(! Cho(!so Rulos numb<!ro<l G to 11 inclusive Ix; printed on 
the hack thoniof. 

Rule 17. M(!m})ors offerinj^ choose for sale undcir the Call 
shall descriV)(! (^ach lot, as to number of boxers, color, texture 
(open or clos(! mad*;), body, flavor, size, and how boxed, s(!ction 
where made, whetlior whohi milks or skims and the average 
weight of each lot. Choose sold uikIct the Call to b(! accepted, 
or rejected, as a good dolivory, or oth(!rwise, bascid on the descrip- 
tion given at the sale 

Rule IS. When (^lun-se are sold under the C!all,.unl(!ss other- 
wise stated, th(^y shall bo ready for immediate! shipment. 

Rule 19. All choose offon^d undcir th«! (^all, with Inspejctor's 
Certificate attached, shall ho accompanif^d by such Certificate 
and be acc(!pt(!d by the buyer unconditionally, i)rovid(!d the 
cheese are brandcid according to liule \'^. 

Rul(! 20. When cheese are offcired under the Call, without 
Inspector's Certificate, should the buyer not consider the cheese 
a good delivery, according to description by seller, he may notify 
the seller, and if tlu; Keillor is unwilling to make another delivery, 
the buy(!r may call upon the Insp<!ctor to decide! wluither or not 
the d(!liv(!ry sliall stand. If the Inspe^ctor decides it is a good 
(hflivery, the buye^r shall acce^pt the cluiose. If the Inspector 
dec!id(!S it is iiot a good dolivciry, then ihc s(!ll(T shall have twenty- 
four (24) hours in wln'ch to make a good doliv<iry. But if the 
seller, after twemty-four (24) hours, fails to make a good de- 
livery, then the buyer shall notify th(! Superintendent of the 
Exchange, who shall collect a penalty of three per cent of the 
amount of the transaction, the Exchange retaining twenty-five 
per c(!nt of this sum, and sevesnty-five per cent shall bo paid to 
thi! buycw. 



356 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



Rule 21. Spot sales under the Call shall be for spot cash un- 
less otherwise agreed. 

Rule 22. All failures in meeting contracts shall be reported 
to the Superintendent of the Exchange, and announced at next 
regular session of the Exchange. 

330. Marketing perishable varieties. — Soft cheeses, 
such as Cream, Neufchatel, Cottage, are usually sold 
to jobbers or directly to retail stores. They have a 
very short commercial life, hence cannot be held long 
before delivery to the consumer. From the jobber, 
cheese usually goes to the wholesale grocer and then to 




Fig. 74. — A cheese cold storage room. 



the retail dealer and finally the consumer. Most job- 
bers have cold storages so that they can hold cheese 
without injury to quality. (See Fig. 7-1.) The kind of 
cheese marketed in any locality depends on the tastes 
of the residents. For example, the South usually desires 
a highly colored product, thinking this color indicates 
more fat ; in the Cheddar group New England de- 



MARKETING 357 

mands a soft pasty quick-curing cheese, thinking that 
softness is a sign of more fat and richness; England 
wants a rather dry, well-cured, highly flavored cheese. 
Canadian Cheddar cheese has been standardized as 
far as possible to appeal to the English market. A long 
ripening period keeps capital tied up through the 
further time required for delivery. This has led to the 
sale of much of the cheese almost or entirely unripe. So 
much of the product has reached the consumer without 
characteristic varietal flavor that large numbers have 
acquired the habit of purchasing and even preferring 
cheese only partly ripe. 

The time during which cheese should be held at the 
factory depends on the variety. Some are shipped as 
soon as made, including those cheeses with sour-milk 
flavor only. Others have to be cured in the factory from 
six to eight weeks. Cheeses in paper or tin-foil should 
be neatly wrapped and carefully put in the boxes. The 
box of cheese should be neat, clean and attractive. 
Cheeses not wrapped should have a firm rind to hold 
them in shape. The boxes should be clean and the 
weight of cheese neatly and plainly marked. In the 
case of Cheddar cheese, it may be paraffined at the 
factory, but if not, this is usually done at the cold 
storage of the jobber. The cheeses usually have some 
time to cure or ripen while being handled by the various 
dealers. 

331. Distribution of price. — The final selling price of 
cheese is a composite of all the changes that have gone 
before ; or conversely, the farmer, the maker, the carrier 
and the distributors (wholesale, jobbing and retail deal- 
ers) must all be paid from the final price of the product. 
A study of this problem in Wisconsin has been made 



358 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

by Ilibbanl, and Ilobson.* The genoral facts as deter- 
inined for Wisconsin have fairly wide appHcation to the 
manufacture and sale of cheese. 

Economic success in handling; cheese is dependent 
on proper j)rovision for the sale of the product. Where 
the output is small, a personal market can be created and 
maintained. This eliminates all profits intervening]^ be- 
tween the maker and the retailer. If the business reaches 
a volume beyond the possibilities of direct sale to the 
retailer, some sellinc; or«:;anization is necessary. Where 
the number of i)roducers is great and the selling machinery 
is well organized, the cheese factory becomes a producer 
of a commodity which is turned over to existing selling 
agencies. This condition is well established for Cheddar, 
Swiss, Brick and Limburger cheese. The soft cheeses 
other than Limburger have thus far been handled prin- 
cipally by large companies, each of which has developed 
an expensive selling organization. A study of the map 
(Fig. 65) shows how the cheese industry is localized in 
particular sections of certain states. Individual factories 
have maintained themselves in widely separated ])laces. 
This localization is due to the geographical conditions 
which make certain regions specially ada])ted to dairy- 
ing, modified by the ])roximity to markets for milk as 
milk. There are many regions, however, well adapted 
to cheese production in which there is no develo})ment 
of the industry at present. New dev(>loiMnents are now 
taking place in the mountain areas of the South, notably 
North Carolina and adjacent states, and in several centers 
of the western mountain states. INIany other areas 
should develop the making of cheese in some form. 

^Hibbard, B. H., and Asher Hobson, Markets and prices of 
Wisconsin cheese, Wis. Exp. Sta. Bui. 251, 1915, 



MARKETING 359 

The actual costs of making and scllinj? cheese were 
found })y the Wisconsin in\'estif:;ators to vary approxi- 
mately as follows: (1) cost of rnakinf^, 1.2 to 1.75 cents; 
(2) storage, | cent a pound a month, or ^ to ^ fcnt for the 
season ; {'.\) transportation to distant points, $.20 to .11)2.50 
for 100 pounds according to distance ; (4) the local dealer, 
about 1 cent a pound ; (5) the wholesale dealer, 2 cents ; 
(6) the jobber or broker who occasionally intervenes, 
about i to J cent ; and the retailer, 5.5 to 9 cents. The 
entire cost of selling at the time this investigation was 
made represented about one-half of the retail price of 
the cheese. The producer of milk received the other 
half of that j)rice. 

332. Standards. — Legal standards in the United 
States are thus far largely based on the specifications of 
American Cheddar. In so far as they are applied to other 
products, they operate merely to i)revent or reduce the 
use of skimmed-milk. The analyses and limits pro- 
posed in the discussion of varieties or groups in this 
book represent the range of composition actually known 
to be associated with cheeses of typical quality. Efforts 
are now being made to establish definitions and standards 
of composition which will limit the use of cheese names 
to products conforming to the requirements for such 
varieties. Practically the only federal requirement thus 
far enforced in the United States is that 50 per cent of 
the water-free substance of the cheese must be milk-fat. 
Various states have local requirements but most of 
them include the federal rule as to fat. New York 
and Wisconsin now restrict the amount of water in 
Cheddar cheese to 40 per cent. Most states have 
laws regulating the manufacture and sale of skimmed- 
milk cheese. 



360 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

333. Laws relating to cheese marketing. — A cheese 
of foreign origin if made in this country must be branded 
to show that it is not imported. For example, Camem- 
bert made in America is labeled Domestic Camembert. 
Some manufacturers call it Camembert type of cheese. 
The same applies to other varieties of foreign cheese. If 
a variety is made under a trade-marked name, this 
prevents any other manufacturer from using that name. 
For example,, a concern may make "Philadelphia" 
cream cheese ; other concerns may make cream cheese, 
but they must call it by some other name. 

The committee on definitions and standards for the 
Association of Official Agricultural Chemists has now un- 
dertaken to define the proper use of type names. This is 
intended to determine the proper limits of composition of 
cheeses in each variety and such essentials of physical 
identification as will insure the proper use of these names. 

Certain states have laws which relate to the branding of 
the cheese to denote quality. If the cheese is made from 
whole milk, a brand may be applied to show this fact. 
This is usually called the state brand. If made from 
skimmed-milk, the cheese must be branded to show this. 
The following ^ illustrate the laws relating to the state 
brand and skimmed-milk cheese : 

See. 48. Manufacturer's brand of cheese. " Every manu- 
facturer of whole-milk cheese may put a brand or label upon 
such cheese indicating ' whole-milk cheese ' and the date of 
the month and year when made ; and no person shall use such 
a brand or label upon any cheese made from milk from which 
any of the cream has been taken. The Commissioner of Agri- 
culture shall procure and issue to the cheese manufacturers of 
the state, on proper application therefor, and under such regu- 
lations as to the custody and use thereof as he may prescribe, 

1 N. Y. Agricultural Laws, Sect. 3, paragraphs 48 and 49. 



MARKETING 361 

a uniform stencil brand or labels bearing a suitable device or 
motto, and the words ' New York state whole-milk cheese.' 
Every suc^ brand or label shall be used upon the outside of the 
cheese and shall bear a different number for each separate fac- 
tory. The commissioner shall keep a book, in which shall be 
registered the name, location and number of each manufactory 
using the brands or labels, and the name or names of the persons 
at each manufactory authorized to use the same. No such 
brand or labels shall be used upon any other than whole-milk 
cheese or packages containing the same. (As amended by chap- 
ter 207 of the Laws of 1910.) 

Sec. 49. Use of false brand prohibited ; branding of skim- 
milk cheese regulated. No person shall offer, sell or expose for 
sale, in any package, butter or cheese which is falsely branded 
or labeled. No person shall sell, offer or expose for sale cheese 
commonly known as Cheddar cheese made from skimmed or 
partially skimmed milk unless the same is branded to show that 
it is skim-milk cheese. All such cheese so sold, offered or ex- 
posed for sale shall be branded with the words ' skim-milk 
cheese,' or if such cheese contains thirteen per centum of milk 
fat or over, it may be branded ' medium skim-milk cheese,' 
or if it contains eighteen per centum of milk fat or over, it may 
be branded 'special skim-milk cheese.' Such branding shall be 
upon the sides of both the sheese and the container. The branding 
herein provided shall be in block letters at least one-half an inch 
square. (As amended by chapter 456 of the Laws of 1913.)'! 

Filled cheeses are those from which the milk-fat has 
been removed and other animal fats substituted. The laws 
of some states prohibit the manufacture of this product. 
The federal law relating to filled cheese permits its manu- 
facture under license, taxes and government inspection. 

The various states have laws regulating the length of 
time that the cheese may be held in cold storage. 

Another important law in some states requires the 
cheese-maker to have a license. He must pass an 
examination to show that the principles and practices 
of cheese-making are understood. 



CHAPTER XXI 
CHEESE IN THE HOUSEHOLD 

Although cheese in some form is familiar to every 
household, it has been widely regarded in America as 
an accessory, almost a condimental substance rather than 
as a staple food worthy of comparison with meat or eggs. 
Statistics of the annual production, importation and ex- 
portation of cheese indicate that the total consumption 
in the United States is about 300,000,000 pounds — per- 
haps three pounds per capita. The household manu- 
facture and consumption of cottage cheese would add a 
small amount to these figures. 

Cheese is used as a staple source of food values among 
many peoples of Europe. Such use of cheese increases 
rather than decreases with the density of the population. 
France with a small fraction of the land area and one-half 
the population of the United States produces and con- 
sumes about the same amount of cheese. In America, 
cheese-making has been developed with the advance of 
settlement into unoccupied territories only to be dropped 
as increasing population produced greater demands for 
milk in other forms. If cheese had been accepted as a 
regular part of the food supply in such communities, 
some form of cheese-making would have survived the 
economic changes. 

334. Food value of cheese. — A consideratic*i of the 
nutritive components of cheese shows it to be a rich 

362 



CHEESE IN THE HOUSEHOLD 363 

source of fat, protein or both, according to the variety 
under examination. It is low in carbohydrates, and 
aside from salt (sodium chloride) compares favorably 
with other substances in mineral constituents. The 
following discussion with an amplified table is taken from 
Langworthy and Hunt : ^ 

** In order, however, that the question of the use of 
cheese in the diet may be adequately discussed, knowl- 
edge of its composition in comparison with other foods 
is desirable, and there is an abundance of data available 
on this subject, since the composition of cheese and other 
foods has often been investigated at the Department of 
Agriculture, in experiment station laboratories and in 
many other places where nutrition problems are studied. 
An extended summary of analyses of cheese of different 
sorts is included in an earlier publication of this depart- 
ment.^ 

" Data regarding the composition of cheese and a few 
other common foods are summarized in the following table. 

" It will be seen from the table (Table XXX) that cheese 
has nearly twice as much protein, weight for weight, as beef 
of average composition as purchased and that its fuel value 
is more than twice as great. It contains over 25 per cent 
more protein than the same weight of porterhouse steak 
as purchased, and nearly twice as much fat. 

" As shown by the figures in the following table, cheese 
contains 3.8 per cent ash. Of this a considerable part 
may be salt added in cheese-making. Like the milk 
from which it is made, cheese ash is characterized chiefly 

^ Langworthy, C. F., and C. L. Hunt, Cheese and its eco- 
nomical uses in the diet, U. S. Dept. Agr. Farmers' Bui. 487, 1912. 

2 See also, Reich, R., Cheese as a food and its judgment from 
standpoint of the food chemist. Arch. f. Hyg. 80 (1913), no. 1/6, 
pages 1G9-195. 



364 



THE BOOK OF CHEESE 



Q 
O 

^ o 

^^ 
2 <« 

S o 
o 

o« 

"^ S 

O fc 

a ° 

m 
W 

W 
O ' 

b 
O 

O 



1 0" 
























II 


tj •-) 4" * 
B 2 S Q w 




ooooor^»o;oioc^t^o<Nicooio 




O'*i0i0OC0-*C0C0'-iO'-H(MrH^ 


p 3 o « a 




^dddddddddddddd 




.s 


O»0i00000i000i0>0i000 


'? 


ioco^^t^oa5co(N'-H.-i05ooo30i 


g J H p 


_o 


05_ 05 i-H --H C^__ fO^ t^ O I> CO Cq_ <M CO --I (M 


6 


i-H i-H T— 1 1— 1 1— 1 1—1 


n 




oot^05oqo(NC5050t^'-<oqpcoco 


^ 


^ 


CO ' ' ■>-I--HGO '--H ■--< "r-J 


§S 




'^ 1 


q ^ i> TjH 00 (M_ 


§5 


^ 


c^ 


lO CO TJH GO d ■<* 

lO 1— 1 T-H 1— 1 1— 1 


H 




r-.iOG005'*'*C5coioqco^^coio 


fa 


^ 


coioaot^dddoid'*''-H 




CO 1-H »-H r-H (M (M 1— 1^ 


O ^ 




(M_(N00--;O2iO^^TrcO(NG0(NC0rt; 


K 5 


s5 


iOLOo6d'-Hcodcococod'-H(N 


fc H 




C^q^^,_i(MO'i(>q,-Hr-l 






iMiO(M^OODI>iOt^pcO<©COOCO 


5 


^ 


Tt^dl^i<^id■'*colOc6^^ld(^^o6coTl^ 


^ 




CO>^OiOCOiO>OCOt^COCOCOt^cDOO 


IS 

D 






CO 


t>. 






(>i 






q 


o 


1 


^ 




QO 


C^ 






,-H 






d 


lO 










I-H 


1-H 






'"' 






<N 


(N 








' -^ 






















. <J^ 












































^ 






















. ^ 






















o 






















;-! 






















• 3 




Cl 


















a 




_o 


















• cc 


t3 


'-S 


















ej 


CD 


!h 














(C 






m 


o 














>:) 




■^ d 


<A 


p< 














;< 




^ o 


A 
















S 
g 




cS .is 


o 


St 


















3 


2 














■<! 




a; O 


ft 


'S 








TS 






^ 




-C Ph 


C/3 


a> 








<o 






O 

(2 




o a 




'^'' 

— 








5? ^ 


in 






o a> o 'D o o 


cS O 




J3 O -S '=' 






•n M-^ t^-^ g 


-a '-iS 




S '^-l W -I-H 






Sys^^tH-^ «tH 












c^ ft^ft 

IB QJ eg ® 






oJ'gS-SS-g'^^S -^s^^^^ 












c 


)« 


PL, 


h- 


3P 


W 


^ 


fc 


Ph 


<; 


II 



CHEESE IN THE HOUSEHOLD 365 

by the presence of calcium (lime), magnesium, phosphorus 
and iron, the average values as given in earlier bulletins 
of the department^ being 1.24 per cent calcium oxid, 
0.049 per cent magnesium oxid, 1.49 per cent phosphorus 
pentoxid, and 0.0015 per cent iron." 

It is clear from the calculations shown in the last column, 
that Cheddar cheese takes first rank among the foods 
compared as to fuel value. The estimate of food values 
in terms of calories may not completely express the value 
of that food to a particular individual. It is generally 
conceded that one great function of food is the production 
of energy and this function is probably more closely 
determined by the number of calories produced than in 
any other known way. Such calculation has become an 
essential factor in the preparation of dietaries. The 
calculation here given necessarily applies only to Cheddar 
cheese. By easy use of the last column, the caloric value 
of this cheese can be compared with that of any competing 
food and the relative economy determined, whatever the 
price asked. Another recent calculation with reference ^ 
to the same cheese follows : 

" One pound of American Cheddar cheese contains as 
much protein as — 

1.57 pounds of sirloin steak. 
1.35 pounds of round steak. 
1.89 pounds of fowl. 
1.79 pounds of smoked ham. 
1.81 pounds of fresh ham. 

" In order to judge the value of foods fairly not only the 
protein but the energy also must be compared. To supply 

1 Doane, C. F., and H. W. Lawson, Varieties of cheese, U. S. 
Dept. Agr. Bur. An. Ind. Bui. 146. 

2U. S. Dept. Agr. Bur. An. Ind., Dairy Div. A. I. 21, 1917. 



366 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

energy cheese is one of the best of food products. On the 
basis of energy supplied, 1 pound of cheese equals — 

1.98 pounds of sirloin steak. 
2.61 pounds of round steak. 
2.52 pounds of fowl. 
1.17 pounds of smoked ham. 
1.29 pounds of fresh ham." 

All these discussions have applied to whole-milk Ched- 
dar cheese. With minor reductions, much the same fig- 
ures will hold for Swiss, Limburger, Brick, Munster, 
Edam. 

On the other hand, very little has been published until 
recently on the skimmed-milk cheeses. The food value lost 
in skimmed-milk has at times been enormous. Many 
households purchase milk by the bottle, use the top-milk 
as cream and lose a part of the remainder. Similarly 
creameries have wasted tons of skimmed-milk. The re- 
covery of the protein of this milk for human food is both 
good economy and an important addition to the dietary. 
The United States Department of Agriculture has recently 
published the following : " Cottage cheese is richer in 
protein than most meats and is very much cheaper. 
Every pound contains more than three ounces of protein, 
the source of nitrogen for body building. It is a valuable 
source of energy also, though not so high as foods with 
more fat. It follows that its value in this respect can 
be greatly increased by serving it with cream, as is so 
commonly done." 

It is an open question whether the decline of cheese- 
making in America is not due to our failure to develop 
the use of skim and part-skim cheeses. The whole-milk 
cheeses are very rich in fat. Use of such cheese in quan- 
tity in connection with ordinary foods quickly leads to the 



CHEESE IN THE HOUSEHOLD 367 

ingestion of too much fat. The skimmed-milk cheeses are 
primarily protein food and as such substitutes for lean meat. 

" The following table shows that cottage cheese is much 
cheaper than most meats in furnishing protein for the diet. 

" For supplying protein, one pound of cottage cheese 
equals : 

1.27 pounds sirloin steak. 
1.09 pounds round steak. 
1.37 pounds chuck rib beef. 
1.52 pounds fowl. 
1.46 pounds fresh ham. 
1.44 pounds smoked ham. 
1.58 pounds loin pork chop. 
1.31 pounds hind leg of lamb. 
1.37 pounds breast of veal. 

" In addition to protein, energy for performing body 
work must be furnished by food. As a source of energy 
also, cottage cheese is cheaper than most meats at present 
prices. The following table shows the comparison when 
energy is considered. 

" On the basis of energy supplied, one pound of cottage 
cheese equals : 

8| ounces sirloin steak. 
11 J ounces round steak, 
llj ounces chuck rib beef. 
lOf ounces fowl. 

SJ ounces fresh ham. ' 

5 ounces smoked ham. 

6 ounces loin pork chop. 
7| ounces hind leg of lamb. 

12f ounces breast of veal." 

335. Digestibility of cheese. — Although it has been 
a staple food with many races for uncounted years, there 
is a widespread belief that cheese is suitable for use chiefly 



368 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

in small quantities as an accessory to the diet, and that 
in large quantities it is likely to produce physiological 
disturbances. The question of digestibility was made 
the subject of a special investigation by the United States 
Department of Agriculture.^ Calorimeter experiments^ 
were made to test the digestibility of several varieties of 
cheese and some of these varieties at various stages of 
ripening. All forms of cheese were found to be digested 
as completely as most of the usual forms of food. Ap- 
proximately 90 per cent of the nitrogenous portion (casein) 
was retained in the body. Unripe cheese in these experi- 
ments was apparently digested as completely as the ripened 
forms. These experiments make clear the possibility 
of making cheese a more prominent article in the regular 
dietary than is usual in America. They especially point to 
the desirability of the use of the skim and partially skim 
cheeses, which as cheap sources of protein when properly 
combined with other foods, may be made to replace 
meats as a less costly source of proteins. Cheese is then 
to be classed with meat and eggs, not with condiments. 
An ounce of Cheddar^ cheese roughly is equi\'alent to 
one egg, to a glass of milk, or to two ounces of meat. 
It is properly to be combined with bread, potatoes and 
other starchy foods, lacking in the fat in which the cheese 
is rich. These experiments included Roquefort, fresh-made 
and ripe Cheddar, Swiss, Camembert and Cottage cheese. 
336. Cheese flavor. — " Cheese owes its flavor to the 
fatty acids and their compounds which it contains and 
to ammonia-like bodies formed during ripening from the 

1 Doane, C. F., et ah. The digestibility of cheese, U. S. Dept. 
Agr. Bur. An. Ind. Circ. 166, pages 1-21, 1911. 

2 Langworthy and Hunt, loc. cit. 

3 U. S. Dept. Agr. Farmers' Bui. 487, page 38. 



CHEESE IN THE HOUSEHOLD 369 

cleavage of the casein, to salt added to the curd, and in 
some varieties, like Roquefort, to bodies elaborated by 
molds which develop in the cheese. In the highly flavored 
sorts some of the fatty acids of a very marked odor are 
present in abundance, as are also the ammonia-like 
bodies. Indeed, in eating such cheese as Camembert a 
trace of ammonia flavor may often be plainly detected. 

" The cleavage of the nitrogenous material of the cheese 
and other changes are brought about chiefly by the action 
of enzymes originally present in cheese or by micro-or- 
ganisms and are to be regarded as fermentative and not 
as putrefactive changes. 

" The liking for highly flavored cheeses of strong odor 
is a matter of individual preference, but from the chemist's 
standpoint there is no reason for the statement often 
made that such cheeses have undergone putrefactive 
decomposition." 

337. Relation to health. — In connection with the use 
of cheese as a food, its relation to the health of the con- 
sumer must be considered. The presence of the bacillus 
of tuberculosis in milk has led to careful study of its 
possible presence in cheese. When American Cheddar 
cheese was specially inoculated for this purpose, the 
living organism was recovered from it after about five 
months by Schroeder of the United States Department 
of Agriculture. This danger is much greater from cheeses, 
such as Cream and Neufchatel, which are eaten when com- 
paratively freshly made. The disease has been produced 
in guinea pigs from such cheese often enough to emphasize 
the desirability of developing methods of making every 
variety possible from thoroughly pasteurized milk. This 
would remove the danger of tuberculosis and with it 
eliminate the possibility of transmitting other diseases. 
2b 



370 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

338. Cheese poisoning ^ cases occasionally occur. These 
take two main forms : (1) an enteritis (caused by Bacillus 
enteriiidis) or some other member of that series which 
while painful and accompanied by purging is rarely 
fatal ; (2) acute toxaemias which, although rare, usually 
result in death. From the latter type a variety of Bacillus 
hotulinus, an organism usually associated with meat 
poisoning, was isolated by the New York State Depart- 
ment of Health. The occurrence of such cases is frequent 
enough to emphasize the desirability of using every pre- 
caution to reduce the number of bacteria that are allowed 
to enter milk when drawn and to prevent the development 
of those which actually gain access to it. When j)()ssible, 
pasteurization should be introduced. 

339. Proper place in the diet. — It has already been 
noted that cheese is used " in general in two ways — in 
small quantities chiefly for its flavor and in large quan- 
tities for its nutritive value as well as for its flavor. Some 
\arieties of cheese are used chiefly for the first purpose, 
others chiefly for the second. Those which are used 
chiefly for their flavor, many of which are high priced, 
contribute little to the food value of the diet, because 
of the small quantity used at a time. They have an 
important part to play, however, in making the diet 
attractive and ])alatable. The intelligent housekeeper 
thinks of them not as necessities, but as lying within 
what has been called ' the region of choice.' Having 
first satisfied herself that her family is receiving sufficient 
nourishment, she then, according to her means and ideas 
of an attractive diet, chooses among these foods and 
others which are to be considered luxuries. 

^ Levin, W., Cheese poisoning — a toxieogenic bacilhis iso- 
lated from cheese, Jour. Lab. Clin. Med. 2 (1917), page 761. 



CHEESE IN THE HOUSEHOLD 371 

"Those cheeses, on the other hand, which are suitable 
to be eaten in larfi;e quantities and which are comparatively 
low priced are important not only from the point of view 
of flavor, but also from the point of view of their nutritive 
value." Among such cheeses are American Cheddar, 
Swiss, Brick, Limburger and the lower priced forms of 
Neufchatel. 

It is clear that in buying cheese, the housekeeper 
should know definitely the dietary purpose of the pur- 
chase, and then choose the variety of cheese best suited. 
To a very large degree the personal tastes of the family 
determine the kinds of cheese which will be tolerated 
when served uncooked. In some families, the strong 
flavors of Roquefort or Limburger are not acceptable. 
However, there is a range of choice in which much judg- 
ment can be used. Cheese to be served with mild-flavored 
foods should as a rule be also mild-flavored. P^or most 
sandwiches, for example, Cheddar or Swiss is usually 
very acceptable; Brick or partly ripe Limburger still 
hard enough to slice cuts into thin rectangular slices and 
is very attractive to many consumers because it has some- 
what more flavor without being too strong. With proper 
handling it is good policy to buy the cheapest of these 
forms for this ])urpose. The selection of dessert cheeses 
offers the widest range. If served with mild-flavored 
crackers, very many persons })refer Cream, Neufchatel or 
mild Cheddar ; a little stronger taste calls for club cheese, 
or Camembert. If tobacco smoke is present, Roquefort, 
Gorgonzola, Limburger and related types will satisfy 
many consumers better than mild cheeses. The inten- 
sity of flavor to be sought in the cheese should thus be 
adjusted to the food served with it. A person with an 
aversion to strong-smelling or strong-tasting cheese has 



372 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

been frequently known to approve over-ripe Camembert, 
or Limburger when served without label but spread upon 
a ginger cracker. 

For cooking purposes, some recipes prescribe cheese 
of special quality. In large markets, old Cheddar ripened 
carefully for two or three years is commonly purchasable 
for Welsh rabbit. (Ask for " rabbit " cheese.) An 
expert housekeeper familiar also with cheese ripening has 
demonstrated that almost any cheese, whether ripened 
to its best, part ripe or over-ripe, can be used in many 
cooking formulas without injuring the acceptability of 
the product to most consumers. In canning Camembert, 
it has been shown ^ that over-ripe cheese so strong as to 
be objectionable, when sterilized loses the objectionable 
flavor of the raw product. No cheese should be wasted ; 
any not used when served the first time should be served 
at a closely following meal or used in cooking. No 
matter what the variety, it will add to the food value and 
palatability of some one of the common dishes served 
within forty-eight hours. 

340. Care of cheese.'^ — " One of the best ways of 
keeping cheese which has been cut is to wrap it in a 
slightly damp cloth and then in paper, and to keep it in 
a cool place. To dampen the cloth, sprinkle it and then 
wring it. It should seem hardly damp to the touch. 
Paraffin paper may be used in place of the cloth. When 
cheese is put in a covered dish, the air should never be 
wholly excluded, for if this is done, it molds more readily. 

"In some markets it is possible to buy small whole 
cheeses. These may be satisfactorily kept by cutting 

^ Thorn, C, Camembert cheese problems in the United States, 
U. S. Dept. Agr. Bur. An. Ind. Bui. 115. 
^Langworthy and Hunt, loc. cit. 



CHEESE IN THE HOUSEHOLD 373 

a slice from the top, to serve as a cover, and removing 
the cheese as needed with a knife, a strong spoon, or a 
cheese scoop. It is ]M)Ssihle to \my at the hardware 
stores knobs which inserted in the layer cut from the top 
make it easy to handle. The cheese with the cover on 
should be kept wrapped in a cloth." ' 

341. Food value and price. — There is little relation 
between the price and food value of standard varieties 
of cheese. The higher-priced varieties claim and hold 
their place because they possess particular flavors. These 
may or may not accompany high comparative food 
values. Even among low-j)ricc(l varieties discrimination 
into grades is largely })ascd on flavor. Of the low-priced 
cheeses, those made from skimmed-milk commonly 
command the lowest prices. As noted above, a choice 
may be based either on purpose or on price. If the 
purpose is fixed, the price should not change the selection. 
If, however, a particular cpiality of cheese is purchasable 
at a low price, some satisfactory form of utilizing it is 
clearly available to the housekeeper. Some standard 
recipes arc given in the following i)aragraphs. 

342. Methods and recipes for using cheese. — (1) As 
a meat substitute. Meat is wholesome and relished by 
most persons, yet it is not essential to a well-balanced 
meal and there are many housekeepers who for one reason 
or another are interested in lessening the amount of meat 
or to substitute other foods. The problem with the 
average family is undoubtedly more often the occasional 
substitution of other palatable dishes for the sake of variety, 
for reasons of economy, or for some other reason than the 
general replacement of meat dishes by other things. 

Foods which are to be served in place of meat should 
be rich in protein and fat and should also be savory. 



374 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

Cheese naturally suggests itself as a substitute for meat, 
since it is rich in the same kinds of nutrients that meat 
supplies, is a staple food with which every one is familiar 
and is one which can be used in a great variety of ways. 
In substituting cheese for meat, especial pains should 
be taken to serve dishes which are relished by the members 
of the family. A number of recipes^ for dishes which 
contain cheese are given below. They are preceded by 
several recipes for cheese sauces which, as will appear, 
are called for in the preparation of some of the more 
substantial dishes. In the first list of recipes, cheese 
means Cheddar. 

Cheese Sauce No. i 

1 cupful of milk. , 1 ounce of cheese (| cupful of 

2 tablespoonfuls of flour. grated cheese). 

Salt and pepper. 

Thicken the milk with the flour and just before serving add 
the cheese, stirring until it is melted. 

This sauce is suitable to use in preparing creamed eggs, or to 
pour over toast, making a dish corresponding to ordinary milk 
toast, except for the presence of cheese. It may be seasoned 
with a little curry powder and poured over hard-boiled eggs. 

Cheese Sauce No. 2 

Same as cheese sauce No. 1, except that the cheese is in- 
creased from 1 to 2 ounces. 

This sauce is suitable for using with macaroni or rice, or for 
baking with crackers soaked in milk. 

Cheese Sauce No. 3 

Same as cheese sauce No. 1, except that two cupfuls of grated 
cheese or 8 ounces are used. This may be used upon toast as a 
substitute for Welsh rabbit. 

^ Langworthy and Hiint, loc. cit. 



CHEESE IN THE HOUSEHOLD 375 

Cheese Sauce No. 4 

Same as cheese sauce No. 2, save that 2 tablespoonfuls of 
melted butter are mixed with the flour before the latter is put 
into the milk. This sauce is therefore very rich in fat and has 
only a mild flavor of cheese. 

Among the recipes for dishes which may be used like 
meat, the following give products which, eaten in usual 
quantities, will provide much the same kind and amount of 
nutritive material as the ordinary servings of meat dishes 
used at dinner. In several cases there is a resemblance 
in appearance and flavor to common meat dishes, which 
would doubtless be a point in their favor with many 
families. 

(2) For general cooking purposes: 

Cheese Fondue No. i 

I5 cupfuls of soft, stale bread crumbs. 4 eggs. 

6 ounces of cheese (I5 cupfuls of grated 1 cupful of hot water. 

cheese or 1| cupfuls of cheese grated 5 teaspoonful of salt. 

fine or cut into small pieces). 

Mix the water, bread crumbs, salt and cheese ; add the yolks 
thoroughly beaten ; into this mixture cut and fold the whites of 
eggs beaten until stiff. Pour into a buttered baking dish and 
cook 30 minutes in a moderate oven. Serve at once. 

The food value of this dish, made with the above quantities, 
is almost exactly the same as that of a pound of beef of average 
composition and a pound of potatoes combined. It contains 
about 80 grams of proteids and has a fuel value of about 1300 
calories. 

Cheese Fondue No. 2 

1| cupfuls of hot milk. 5 of a pound of cheese (I5 cup- 

I5 cupfuls of soft, stale bread fuls of grated cheese or 1 

crumbs. cupful of cheese cut into 

1 tablespoonful of butter. small pieces). 

4 eggs. I teaspoonful of salt. 



376 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

Prepare as in previous recipe. 

The protein value of this dish is equal to that of I5 pounds of 
potato and beef, the fuel value, however, being much in excess 
of these. 

In making either of these fondues, rice or other cereals may 
be substituted for bread crumbs. One-fourth cupful of rice 
measured before cooking, or one cupful of cooked rice or other 
cereals, should be used. 

Corn and Cheese Souffle 

1 tablespoonful of butter. 1 cupful of chopped corn. 

1 tablespoonful of chopped green 1 cupful of grated cheese, 

pepper. 3 eggs. 

1 cupful of flour. I teaspoonful of salt. 

2 cupfuls of milk. 

Melt the butter and cook the pepper thoroughly in it. Make 
a sauce out of the flour, milk and cheese ; add the corn, cheese, 
yolks and seasoning ; cut and fold in the whites beaten stiffly ; 
turn into a buttered baking dish and bake in a moderate oven 
30 minutes. 

Made with skimmed-milk and without butter, this dish has 
a food value slightly in e.xcess of a pound of beef and a pound of 
potatoes. 

Cheese Souffle 

2 tablespoonfuls of butter. A speck of cayenne. 

3 tablespoonfuls of flour. \ cupful of grated cheese. 
§ cupful of milk (scalded). 3 eggs. 

5 teaspoonful of salt 

Melt the butter; add the flour and, when well mixed, add 
gradually the scalded milk. Then add salt, cayenne and cheese. 
Remove from the fire and add the yolks of the eggs, beaten until 
lemon colored. Cool the mixture and fold into it the whites of 
the eggs, beaten until stiff. Pour into a buttered leaking dish 
and cook 20 mmutes in a slow oven. Serve at once. 

The proteid of this recipe is equal to that of half a pound 
of beef ; the fuel value is equal to that of three-fourths of a 
pound. 



CHEESE IN THE HOUSEHOLD 377 

Welsh Rabbit 

1 tablespoonful of butter. 2 pound of cheese, cut into small 

1 teaspoonful of corn-starch. pieces. 

^ cupful of milk. j teaspoonful each of salt and 

mustard. 
A speck of cayenne pepper. 

Cook the corn-starch in the butter ; then add the milk gradu- 
ally and cook two minutes ; add the cheese and stir until it is 
melted. Season and serve on crackers or bread toasted on one 
side, the rabbit being poured over tlie untoasted side. Food 
value is that of about three-fourths of a pound of beef. 

Macaroni and Cheese No. i 

1 cupful of macaroni, broken into small 2 tablespoonfuls of flour. 

pieces. j to 2 pound of cheese. 

2 quarts of boiling salted water. 2 teaspoonful of salt. 

1 cupful of milk. Speck of cayenne pepper. 

Cook the macaroni in the boiling salted water, drain in a 
strainer, and pour cold water over it to prevent the pieces from 
adhering to each other. Make a sauce out of the flour, milk, 
and cheese. Put the sauce and macaroni in alternate layers in 
a buttered leaking dish, cover with buttered crumbs, and heat 
in oven until crumbs are brown. 

Macaroni and Cheese No. 2 

A good way to prepare macaroni and cheese is to make a rich 
cheese sauce and heat the macaroni in it. The mi.xture is usually 
covered with buttered crumbs and browned in the oven. The 
advantage of this way of preparing the dish, however, is that 
it is unnecessary to have a hot oven, as the sauce and macaroni 
may be reheated on the top of the stove. 

Baked Rice and Cheese No. i 

1 cupful of uncooked rice and 2 tablespoonfuls of flour. 
4 cupfuls of milk ; | pound of cheese. 

or, I teaspoonful of salt. 

3 cupfuls of cooked rice and 
1 cupful of milk. 



378 THE BOOK OF CHEESE 

If uncooked rice is used, it should be cooked in 3 cupfulsof 
milk. Make a sauce with one cupful of milk, add the flour, 
cheese and salt. Into a buttered baking dish put alternate 
layers of the cooked rice and the sauce. Cover with buttered 
crumbs and bake until the crumbs are brown. The proteids in 
this dish, made with rice cooked in milk, are equal to those of 
nearly If pounds of average beef. If skimmed-milk is used, the 
fuel value is equal to nearly 3^ pounds of beef. Whole milk 
raises the fuel value still higher. 

Fried Bread with Cheese No. i 

6 slices of bread. | teaspoonful of salt. 

1 cupful of milk. 5 teaspoonful of potassium bi- 

2 ounces of cheese, or | cupful carbonate. 

of grated cheese. Butter or other fat for frying. 

Scald the milk with the potassium bicarbonate ; add the 
grated cheese, and stir until it dissolves. Dip the bread in this 
mixture and fry it in the butter. The potassium bicarbonate 
helps to keep the cheese in solution. It is desirable, however, 
to keep the milk hot while the bread is being dipped. 

Plain Cheese Salad 

Cut Edam or ordinary American cheese into thin pieces, 
scatter them over lettuce leaves and serve with French dressing. 

Olive and Pimiento Sandwich or Salad Cheese 

Mash any of the soft cream cheeses and add chopped olives 
and pimientos in equal parts. This mixture requires much salt 
to make it palatable to most palates, the amount depending 
chiefly on the quantity of pimiento used. The mixture may be 
spread between thin slices of bread or it may be made into a 
roll or molded, cut into slices and served on lettuce leaves 
with French dressing. 

Cheese and Tomato Salad 

Stuff cold tomatoes with cream cheese and serve on lettuce 
leaves with French dressing. 



CHEESE IN THE HOUSEHOLD 379 

Cheese and Pimiento Salad 
Stuff canned pimientos with cream cheese, cut into slices and 
serve one or two slices to each person on lettuce leaves with 
French dressing. 

(3) Ways to use cottage cheese. Cottage cheese alone 
is an appetizing and nutritious dish. It may also be 
served with sweet or sour cream, and some persons add a 
little sugar, or chives, chopped onion or caraway seed. 

The following recipes ^ illustrate a number of ways in 
which cottage cheese may be served : 

Cottage Cheese with Preserves and Jellies 
Pour over cottage cheese any fruit preserves, such as straw- 
berries, figs or cherries. Serve with bread or crackers. If pre- 
ferred, cottage cheese balls may be served separately and eaten 
with the preserves. A very attractive dish may be made by 
dropping a bit of jelly into a nest of the cottage cheese. 

Cottage Cheese Salad 

Mix thoroughly one pound of cheese, one and one-half table- 
spoonfuls of cream, one tablespoonful of chopped parsley and 
salt to taste. First, fill a rectangular tin mold with cold water 
to chill and wet the surface ; line the bottom with waxed paper, 
then pack in three layers of the cheese, putting two or three 
parallel strips of pimiento, fresh or canned, between the layers. 
Cover with waxed paper and set in a cool place until ready to 
serve ; then run a knife around the sides and invert the mold. 
Cut in slices and serve on lettuce leaves with French dressing 
and wafers or thin bread-and-butter sandwiches. Minced olives 
may be used instead of the parsley, and chopped nuts also may 
be added. 

Cottage Cheese Rolls 

(To be used like meat rolls.) 
A large variety of rolls, suitable for serving as the main dish 
at dinner, may be made by combining legumes (beans of various 
kinds, eowpeas, lentils or peas) with cottage cheese, and adding 

lU. S. Dept. of Agr. Bur. An. Ind. A. I. 18. 



380 77//'; HOOK OF CHEESE 

l)r(>a(l crumhs lo make (lie tiiixliirc lliicU (Mioiitrli lo i'orTii into 
a roll. Ii(uiiis are usually ruaslicd, hut, peas or small Jjima 
boatis may he eomhiiied wiiole with hread crumhs and coUaKo 
cheese, and (Wiouf^h of (he licjuor in whielr the vefjetahles have 
boon cooked siiould he added to jjet the rifi;ht (!onsisten(\y ; or, 
instead of beans or peas, ehopixHl spinach, beet tops or head 
lettuce may be added. 

Boston Roast 

1 pound cati of kidney beans, or e(iuivalent quantity of cooked 
beans. 

J pound of cottage cheese. 

Broad crumbs. 

Salt. 

Mash the beans or put Ihem throufifh a meat grindcir. Add 
the cheese and bn^ad crundts enouti:h to mak<» the mixture suffi- 
oiently stilT lo be formed into a roll. Make in a moderate oven, 
bastirif,' oc(iasionally willi butter or other fat, a,nd water. Serve 
with tomato sa-iice. This dish may Ix- (lavored with chopped 
onions (looked until tender in l)utter or other fat and a V(!ry 
little water. 

Pimiento and Cottage Cheese Roast 

2 cupfuls of cooked Lima beans, .'i canned pi mien tos chopped. 
} pound of cottafjfe cheese. iiread <Tumbs. 

Salt. 

I'ut (lie (irsl (hr<<e in^n^lients throufifh a. mea-t chopix-r. Mix 
thoroughly and add l)rea,d <irund)s until it is slilT (miou^^Ii I(» form 
into a roll. Urown in th(M)vtui, basting occrasionally with butter 
or other fat, ami wa,ter. 

Cottage Cheese and Nut Roast 

I cupful of cot(,age cheese. 2 tablespoonfuls of chopped 
1 (Uipful of chopp(^d English onion. 

walnu(,s. I (abh'spoonful of butter. 

1 cupful of l)read crumbs. .Juice of half a. hrmon. 
Salt and pepper. 

Cook the onion in the buKcr or olhrr faX and a, liMh^ wat(^r 
until teiuler. Mix the other ingredients and moisl,en with the 



CHEESE IN Till': IIDlSKIIOLI) 381 

wator in wliidi Mir onion lias Imhmi (ioolaul. I'our into a shallow 
baking disli and ln'own in (lid oven. 

Cheese Sauce 
(For us(i wiMi cj^f^s, milk toasl or otluT dishes.) 

OiKi (Mipl'id of milk, 1 lahlcspoonFul of cottafjjn clutdsti, 2 (ahhi- 
spoonfuls of flour, salt and pcppor to taste*. 

Thickon tlio milk with tho flour and just boforo serving add 
tho cliooso, stirring until it is moltod. 

Tliis sau(u» may \w ustul in pmparing (iroamc^d oggs or for 
ordinary milk toast. Tho quantity of eluH'Sct in tho rocipo may 
bo incroasod, making a sau(H) suitablo for using with ma(^aroiii or 
rice. 



INDEX 



Acetic acid in cheese, 247. 
Acid cocci, 19. 
Acid fermentation, 17. 
Acid organisms, 41. 
Acid peptonizing organisms, 41. 
Acidity, in cheese and curd, 57, 58, 
59. 

and color, 67. 

and rennet action, 66. 

and ripening, 255. 

and separation of whey, 66. 

and texture, 67. 

control of, 64. 

in milk, 60. 

testing, 60, 61. 
Acidy cheese, 66. 
Acme curd rake, 196. 
Albumin, 10. 
Albumin cheese, 295. 
Alcohols in cheese, 248. 
Alkaline bacteria, 20. 
Appetitost, 114. 
Ash of milk, 11. 
Ayers, S. H. (Thorn and), 21. 

Babcock, S. M., 201, 237, 248, 295. 
Babcock test, 327-332. 
Bacillus botulinus, 370. 

bulgaricus = Bacterium bulgari- 
cum, 18, 279. 

enteritidis, 370. 

subtilis, 20. 
Backstein cheese, 164. 
Bacteria, 14. 

alkali-producing, 20. 

control of, 25. 

from the air, 23. 

from the cow, 23. 

from the milker, 24. 

from the utensils, 24. 



Bacteria — Continued. 

groups of, in milk, 15. 

in Cheddar ripening, 252-254. 

inert type, 20. 

influence on yield of Cheddar, 
227. 

peptonizing, 20. 

sources in milk, 22. 
Bacterium bulgaricum, 18, 19. 

aerogenes, 18. 

casei, 253. 

coli-communis, 18, 252. 

guntheri, 41. 

lactis acidi, 18, 41, 252, 254. 

lactis aerogenes, 252. 

liquefaciens, 20. 

prodigiosus, 20. 
Baer, U. S., and W. L. Carlyle, 

12. 
Baker's cheese, 105. 
Bang, Ivar, 39. 
Bang's theory of casein, 37. 
Barite, baryta, 159. 
Barnard curd mill, 208. 
Benson, Miles, 163. 
Bergey, D. H., 16. 
Besana, C, 29. 
Block Swiss, 285. 
Blue label, 109. 
Blue-veined cheeses, 150. 
Board of Health lactometer, 336. 
Boards of Trade (Cheese), 349, 

350. 
Boekhout, J. W. J., and J. J. Ott 

de Vries, 174. 
Bondon cheese, 94. 
Bosworth, Alfred W., 37-38, 40, 126, 

251. 
Bosworth, A. W., and M. J. Prucha, 
249. 



383 



384 



INDEX 



Bosworth, A. W., and L. L. Van 

Slyke, 40. 
Bosworth's theory of casein, 37. 
Branding cheese, 360. 
Breeds of cows, milk from, 6. 
Brick cheese, 86, 136, 164 to 169, 
358. 

making, 165. 

qualities, 167. 

ripening, 167. 

score-card, 169. 

yield, 169. 
Brie, American, 134-136. 

French, 117, 131, 132. 
Brindse, Brinse cheese, 110. 
Bushnell, L. D., and W. R. Wright, 

44. 
Buttermilk cheese, 93. 
Butyric acid in Cheddar cheese, 

248. 
Butyric organisms, 21. 
Buying milk, 343. 

Caciocavallo cheese, 293. 
California Jack cheese, 233. 
Calorimeter values, 364. 
Camembert cheese, 86, 111, 117 
to 131, 137. 

acidity in, 122. 

bacteria in, 127. 

composition, 128. 

described, 117. 

domestic, 360. 

factory, 129. 

group, 117. 

lot-card, 124, 125. 

making, 118-122. 

ripening, 123. 
Caproic acid in cheese, 136. 
Carres affinfes, 114. 
Casein, defined chemically, 33. 

acted on by acid, 33. 

in cheese ripening, 249. 

in milk and cheese, 9. 

Robertson's theory, 34. 

test (Hart), 334. 
Caseinogen, 35. 
Catalase, 11. 
Chapaia, J. C, 137. 



Cheddar cheese, 79, 86, 173, 184 
to 275, 358, 368. 

acidity test for, 190. 

acidy, 266, 270. 
,— American, 230. 

body in, 271, 273. 

boxes for, 264. 

calorimeter studies of, 368. 

cheddaring curd for, 204-207. 

color in, 270. 

composition of, 223. 

cooking curd for, 195-200. 

corky, 199. 

cutting curd for, 193. 

defects in, 265. 

drawing whey, 200. 

dressing, 216. 

dry body in, 267. 

English, 173. 

feedy flavors in, 265. 

finish in, 271. 

firming curd for, 201-204. 

flavor of, 221. 

food value of, 362-365. 

fruity flavors in, 266. 

gas in curd for, 219. 

gas in milk for, 217, 219, 269. 

gassy, 268. 

hooping curd for, 212. 

hot-iron test for, 201, 208. 

judging, 271. 

losses in, 262, 263. 

lot-card for, 184, 187. 

matting, 204. 

milk for, 186. 

milling, 207. 

moisture content of, 228, 258. 

mottled, 221, 270. 

packing curd for, 202. 

paraffining, 263. 

pin-holes in, 189. 

pressing, 213. 

quality in, 221, 272-273. 

ripening milk for, 189 to 192. 

ripening of, 247 to 263. 

salting curd for, 211. 

score-card for, 271, 273, 275. 

seamy color in, 214, 221. 

setting, 192. 



INDEX 



385 



Cheddar cheese — Continued. 

shipping, 264. 

starter for, 190, 191. 

sweet flavor in, 266. 

texture of, 267. 

variations of process, 229. 

yield, 224, 225. 
Cheese, and health, 369. 

and meals, 367. 

and price of, 373. 

boxes, 357. 

canned, 372. 

care in home, 372. 

choice of, 370-371. 

classification of, 81-85. 

color, 56. 

composition-table, 86, 364. 

definition of, 1. 

digestibility of, 368. 

fondue, 375. 

food value of, 362-367. 

fuel value of, 365. 

history of, 4. 

in dietaries, 370-374. 

in the household, 361-381. 

knife, 205. 

names, 81. 

poisoning, 370. 

price, 323, 357. 

problems, 3. 

processed, 84. 

ripening (see varietal descriptions). 

roast, 380. 

salad, 378, 379. 

sandwich, 371, 378. 

sauce, 374, 381. 

souffl6, 376. 

total consumption of, 362. 

trier, 272. 

varieties, 3. 

with sour-milk flavor, 89. 

yield basis for buying milk, 343 
Cheese-making, an art, 2. 

a science, 3. 
Chemistry of rennet action, 33-40. 
Cheshire, 184. 
Clabber cheese, 90. 
Clark, W. M., 284. 
Classification of cheese, 81 to 85. 

2c 



Club cheese, 85, 231. 
rold-storage, 356, 361. 
Colon-aerogenes group, 18. 
Color, 56. 
Colostrum, 18. 
Commercial starter, 4.3. 
Composition of Brick, 169. 

Camembert, 128. 

Cheddar, 223. 

Cottage, 92. 

Cream, 108. 

Limburger, 147. 

Neufchatel, 105, 107. 

Roquefort, 151. 

Swiss, 287. 
Conn, H. W., 16, 23, 152. 
Connecticut (Storrs) Exp. Sta. 

Kept., 7, 16. 
Constituents of milk, 7. 
Cooking curd, 77. 

for Cheddar, 195. 

for Swiss, 281. 
Cooperative organizations, 309. 
Cornalba, G., 293. 
Cottage cheese, 2, 86, 368, 379-381. 

discussed, 90-93. 
Coulommiers cheese. 111, 117, 131, 

132. 
Cow-brand cheese, 109. 
Cream cheese, 108. 
Curd, 9. 

breaking, 75. 

chemistry of, 33 to 40. 

cooking of, 77. 

cutting, 75. 

draining, 79. 

fork, 210. 

knives, 77 (Fig. 11), 194, 195. 
Curdling period, 74. 
Curd-making, 55. 

factors in, 55. 
Curd mills, 207 to 209. 
Curd pail, 213. 
Curd rakes, 196. 
Curd scoop, 213. 
Curd sink, 204. 
Curd test, 26. 

Currie, James N., 149, 150, 155, 
156. 



386 



INDEX 



Cutting, W. B., 159. 
Cutting rur(l, 75-77. 

for Brick, 165. 

for Cheddar, 193-195. 

for Edam, 175. 

for Isigny, 135. 

for Limburger, 141. 

for Roquefort, 154. 

for Swiss, 280-281. 

Dahlberg, Arnold O., 98. 

Daisies (cheese), 230. 

Danish cheese, 173. 

Davis, B. J. (and L. A. Rogers), 16. 

Dean, H. H., 163. 

Decker, John W., 217. 

Derbyshire, 184. 

Diastase, 11. 

Digestibility of cheese, 367. 

Diseased cows, effect on milk, 13. 

Doane, C. F., 64, 263, 296. 

Doane, C. F., and E. E. Eldredge, 

279. 
Doane, C. F., and H. W. Lawson, 

169, 365. 
Dotterrer, W. D., and R. S. Breed, 

301. 
Dox, Arthur W., 126, 150. 
Draining, 79. 

Camembert, 121-122. 

Cheddar, 195-206. 

Cottage, 91. 

Limburger, 142. 

Neufchatel, 97. 

Roquefort, 154. 

Swiss, 280-282. 
Draining cloths, for Jack cheese, 
235. 

for Neufchatel, 97. 

for Swiss, 282. 
Draining rack for Neufch&,tel, 97. 
Dressing Cheddar, 216. 
Dry body, 267. 
Duclaux, E., 39, 33-40. 
Duclaux's theory of casein, 36. 
Dutch cheeses, 173. 
Dutton, G. C, 184. 

Eagle brand, 109. 



Eckles, C. H., and Otto Rahn, 112. 

Eckles, C. H., and R. H. Shaw, 7. 

Edam cheese, 173, 174 to 180, 366. 

Eldredge, E. E., and L. A. Rogers, 
284. 

EUenberger, H. B., and M. R. 
Tolstrup, 296. 

Elliott, W. J., 310. 

Emmenthal or Emmenthaler, 276 

English dairy cheese, 238. 

Enzymes in cheese-ripening, 250. 
in milk, 11. 

Equipment list for Cheddar fac- 
tory, 307. 

Esten, W. M., 41. 

Esten, W. M., and C. J. Mason, 16, 
129. 

Esters in Cheddar cheese, 248, 254. 

Export Cheddar, 230. 

Exportation of cheese, 321. 

Factory, 297-309. 

arrangement, 302-306. 

boiler-room in, 301. 

building, 299. 

cleanliness in, 307. 

cooperative, 308. 

curing-rooms, 300. 

drainage, 298. 

equipment list, 307. 

heating, 300. 

location of, 298, 299. 

organization, 308 309. 

proprietary, 308. 

supplies, list for, 307. 

system, 313, 320. 

ventilation of, 300. 

water in, 298. 
Farm cheese, 133. 
Farrington, E. H., and G. H. 

Benkendorf, 310. 
Farrington, E. H., and G. J. Davis, 

298. 
'Farrington, Harvey, 314. 
Farrington's test, 62. 
Fascetti, G., 288. 
Fat-basis for buying milk, 344. 
Fat and casein ratio, 224, 226. 
Fat and cheese yield, 225, 226. 



INDEX 



387 



Fat and water content, 86. 
Fat in cheese-ripening, 86. 
Fat in milk, 8. 
Fat loss, 226-227. 

plus two method, 345. 
Fat test, 327-334. 
Feeds, 11. 
Fermentation, 15. 
Fermentation test, 26. 
Ferments, 15, 29. 
Filled cheese, 315, 361. 
Fisk, Walter W., 68, 89, 228. 
"Flats," 230. 
Flavor of cheese, 368, 371. 
Flavor of feeds, 11. 
Fleischmann, W., 152. 
Food value of cheese, 362-367. 
Forbes, E. B., and M. H. Keith, 9, 

33 to 40. 
Formic acid in Cheddar, 248. 
Frandsen, J. H., 23, 89. 
Frandsen, J. H., and T. Thorsen, 89. 
Fraser, W. J., 23. 
Fraser hoop, 212. 
Frestadius, A., 159. 
Freudenreich, E. von, and Orla 

Jensen, 284. 
Full skim Cheddar, 242. 

Galactase, 11. 

Gang press, 214. 

Gases in cheese-ripening, 249. 

Gassy curd, 146, 220. 

Gassy milk, 219. 

Geographical distribution of cheese 

factories, 315. 
Germicidal effect of milk, 22. 
Gervais cheese, 109. 
Getman, Louis, 139. 
Gex cheese, 164. 
Glaesler (Swiss), 286. 
Glymoi, 334. 
Goat cheese, 109. 
Gorgonzola cheese, 158 to 161. 
Gorini, Constantine, 288. 
Gosselin curd mill, 208. 
Gouda cheese, 173, 180 to 183. 
Gournay cheese, 114, 
Grana cheese, 288. 



Granular curd cheese, 232. 

"Green" cheese, 247. 

Gruy&re, 276. 

Guthrie, E. S., and W. W. Fisk, 44. 

Haecker, T. L., 180. 

Half-skim Cheddar, 243. 

Hall, W. W., 187. 

Halliburton, 35. 

Hammarsten, Olof, 39, 33-40. 

Hammarsten's theory of rennet 

action, 35. 
Hand cheese, 112. 
Hard cheese, 172. 
Harding, H. A., 23, 254. 
Harding, H. A., and M. J. Prucha, 

252. 
Harding, H. A., J. K. Wilson, and 

G. A. Smith, 25. 
Harding, H. A., and G. A. Smith, 

.306. 
Harris curd mill, 209. 
Hart, E. B., 38, 40, 91, 201, 249, 

253, 255, 256, 334. 
Hart casein test, 334. 
Harz cheese, 112. 
Hastings, E. G., 21, 44, 237. 
Hastings, E. G., and Alice C. 

Evans, 60. 
Hastings, E. G., Alice C. Evans, and 

E. B. Hart, 253, 255. 
Hayward, H., 180. 
Heat in cheese-making, 77-78, 87, 

91, 195, 281. 
Heinemann, P. G., 254. 
Hibbard, B. H., and A. Hobson, 

.349, 358-359. 
History of cheese-making, 4, 311. 
Hoops, for Camembert, 121. 
for Cheddar, 212. 
for Roquefort, 154. 
for Swiss, 278. 
Hosl, J., 39. 
Hot-iron test, 201. 
Household, cheese in, 362-381. 
Hunziker, O. F., 22. 
Hydrogen in Cheddar, 254. 

Importation of cheese, 321. 
Inert bacteria, 20. 



388 



INDEX 



Iowa Exp. Sta. Bull., 310. 
d'lsigny cheese, 132, 134-137. 
Italian cheeses, 288-291. 

Jack cheese, 184, 23.3-236. 
Jensen, Orla, 284. 
Junker curd mill, 209. 

Kascoval cheese, 164. 

Kiernan, Mrs. E. E., 113. 

Kikkoji, 36, 39. 

King, F. H., and E. H. Farrington, 

12. 
Kosher cheese, 136. 

Lactic starter, 41-54. 
Lactometer, 335. 

Board of Health type, 336. 

Quevenne type, 335. 
Lactose (see Milk-sugar), 10. 
Langworthy, C. F., andC. L. Hunt, 

363, 372. 
Larsen, C, and W. White, 44. 
Lauder, A., and A. Cunningham, 22 
Laws about cheese, 359-361. 
Laws about milk, 347. 
Leicestershire, 184. 
Levin, W., 370. 
Leyden cheese, 238. 
License for cheese-maker, 361. 
Liederkranz cheese, 134, 138. 
Ligeon, X., 170. 

Limburger, 86, 136, 139 to 147, 
358, 371. 

factory, 139-140. 

making process, 140-143. 

qualities, 145. 

ripening, 143-145. 

wrapping, 145. 

yield of, 147. 
Lindet, L., 38, 39. 
Lipase, 11. 
Livarot cheese, 135. 
Loevenhart, A. S., 36, 39. 
Long-horn (Cheddar) cheese, 230 
Lot-card, for Camembert, 124-125 

for Cheddar, 184, 187. 

for starter, 53. 

Macaroni and cheese, 377. 
Maine Exp. Sta. Rept., 7. 



Malakoff cheese, 94, 114. 
Manns, A. G., 7. 
Manns test, 231. 
Manufacturer's brand, 360-361. 
Marketing, 343-361. 

laws concerning, 360. 
Marre, E., 151. 
Marschall test, 62. 
Marshall, C. E., 189, 217. 
Marty, G., 165. 
Matheson, K. J., F. R. Cammack, 

log. 

Matheson, K. J., C. Thom, and 

J. N. Currie, 94. 
Matting, 204. 

Mayo, N. F., and C. G. Elling, 289. 
Maz6, P., 116. 
McAdam, Robert, 314. 
McNaughton, Janet, 132. 
McPherson curd agitator, 196. 
Mercantile exchanges, 351. 
Michels, John, 89. 
Michigan Agr. Law, 13. 
Milk, acid fermentation of, 17. 

acidity in, 60. 

albumin, 10. 

ash, 11. 

bacteria in, 21. 

bacterial contamination of, 21. 

buying, 343. 

casein in, 9, 224. 

clean, 22. 

colostrum in, 13. 

composition of, 5, 6, 56, 222. 

constituents, 7. 

defined, 5. 

enzymes in, 11. 

fat in, 8, 224. 

flavors in, 11. 

from diseased cows, 13. 

germicidal property, 22. 

lactose in, 10. 

moisture in, 8. 

odors in, 12. 

paying for, 343. 

quality in, 5. 

sugar (lactose), 10. 

variation in composition, 6. 
Milking machines, 25, 



INDEX 



389 



Milk-sugar, 10. 
Moisture and acidity, 70. 
Moisture control, 68, 69. 
Moisture limits in cheese, .358. 
Moisture test (Troy's), 337-342. 
Molding machines for Neufch^tel, 

98. 
Molding Neufchatel. 104. 
Molds in Cheddar, 271. 

in milk, 21. 
Monrad, J. H., 112, 114, ISO. 
Moore, V. A., and A. R. Ward, 217. 
Morrow, G. A., and A. G. Manns, 7. 
Mottled Cheddar, 221, 270. 
Mucors, 93. 

Munster, 147, 148, 366. 
Mysost, 293, 295. 

Natural starter, 43. 
Neufchatel, 80, 85, 86, 89, 371. 

American, 95. 

domestic, 95, 106. 

factory, 95. 

group discussed, 94 to 109. 

packages, 98. 

ripened form, 114-116, 117. 

yield, 107. 
New Jersey Exp. Sta. Rept., 7. 
New York (Geneva) Exp. Sta. 

Rept., 7, 8, 174. 
New York Mercantile Exchange, 

351-356. 
New York Price Current, 315, 351. 
New York Produce Review, 165, 

233, 280. 
New York State Department of 

Agriculture, 13. 
Niszler (Swiss) cheese, 286. 
Nut cheese, 109. 

Odors absorbed by milk, 12. 

Oidiiim (Oospora) lactis, 113, 116, 
131, 136, 163. 

Oka cheese, 169. 

Olimento cheese, 109. 

Olive cheese, 109. 

Olson, G. A., 74. 

Ontario Agricultural College Bulle- 
tins, 7, 228. 

Over-ripe milk, 218. 



Pails, 24, 25. 
Paracasein, 35, 250. 
Paraffining Cheddar, 263. 
Parmesan cheese, 2, 80, 80, 173, 

288-291. 
Pasteurization, 11, 26, 45, 229, 396. 
Pasteurized Cheddar, 229. 
Pasty body, 270. 
Paying for milk, 343-346. 
Penicillium brevicaule, 129. 

camemberti, 116, 12G, 127, 131. 

camemberti var. rogcri, 116. 

candidum, 116. 

roqueforti, 155, 156, 159, 163. 
Pennsylvania pot cheese, 113. 
Pepsin, 30, 33. 
Peptonizing bacteria, 20. 
Percival, J., and G. Heather Mason, 

163. 
Perishable varieties, 356. 
Peroxidase, 11. 
Petit Carr6, 94, 114. 
Petite Suisse, 94, 114. 
Petits Bondons, 114. 
Petry, E., 36, 39. 
Philadelphia cream, 109, 360. 
Picnic cheese, 230. 
Pimiento cheese, 85, 101. 
Pimientos in Cheddar, 238. 
Pim-olive cheese, 109. 
Pineapple cheese, 184, 238. 
Pohl curd mill, 208. 
Poisoning by cheese, 370. 
Pont I'Eveque cheese, 135. 
Pooling method, 345. 
Port du Salut cheese, 136, 169 to 

171. 
Pot cheese, 113. 
Pouriau, A. F., 82, 114. 
Press cloths, 212. 
Presses, 214, 215. 
Prices, distribution of, 357-359. 

yearly average of, 323. 
Primost, 295. 
Processed cheese, 84. 
Propionic acid in cheese, 247, 248. 
Provolono, 294. 

Prucha, M. J., and H. M. Weeter, 
23. 



390 



INDEX 



Ptyalin, 30. 
Publow, C. A. 60. 
Publovv's test, 62. 
Pure culture starter, 4.3. 

Quality in Cheddar, 272-273. 

in Edam, 180. 

in Limburger, 145. 

in milk, 6. 

in Swiss. 286. 
Quevenne lactometer, 335. 

Rabbit cheese, 372. 

Raffin6 cheese, 137, 138. 

Recipes for cooking cheese, 375-381. 

Reductase, 11. 

Regianito cheese, 292. 

Reich, R., 363. 

Rennet, 9, 30, 312. 

action, 33 to 40. 

action, chemistry of 

action delayed by, 73. 

adding, 72. 

amount to use, 72. 

extract, 31, 279. 

for Camembert, 121. 

for Cheddar, 192. 

for Limburger, 141. 

for Neufchatel, 100. 

for Roquefort, 153. 

for Swiss, 279. 

in ripening Cheddar, 250. 

strength of, 72. 

temperature of using, 71. 

test, 62. 
Rennin, 30. 
Rice and cheese, 377. 
Ricotte, 11, 295. 
Robbiola, 117. 

Robertson, T. Brailsford, 38. 
Robertson's theory of casein, 34. 
Roger, Georges, 116. 
Rogers, L. A., 16. 
Rogers, L. A., and B. J. Davis, 16. 
Roquefort cheese, 2, 86, 150, 158, 
368, 369, 371. 

acidity for, 153. 

caves for, 151. 

composition of, 151. 



Roquefort cheese — Continued. 

curdling for, 153. 

cutting curd for, 154. 

draining, 154. 

from cow's milk, 152. 

milk for, 153. 

mold for, 154. 

ripening of, 156-157. 

salting, 155. 

setting, 153. 

temperature, 153. 
Ruddick, J. A., and G. H. Baur, 26. 
Russell, H. L., 189, 217. 
Rusty spots, 74, 306. 

Sage cheese, 239-241. 

Salt in Cheddar ripening, 259. 

Salting, Camembert, 122. 

(^heddar, 211. 

Limlturger, 142. 

Neufchatel, 102. 

Roquefort, 155. 

Swiss, 283. 
Sammis, J. L., 95, 228, 296, 337, 

347, 349. 
Sammis, J. L., and A. T. Bruhn, 

11, 41, 57, 229. 
Sammis, J. L., S. K. Suzuki and 

F. W. Laabs, 33. 
Sammis' method, 229. 
Sap sago, 294. 
Schenk, C, 165. 
Schmidt-Nielson, S., 36, 39. 
Schmierkilse, 90. 
Schroedcr, E. C, 99. 
Schweitzer cheese, 276. 
Score-card, for Brick, 169. 

for Cheddar, 271. 

for Limburger, 146. 

for starter, 51. 

for Swiss, 287. 
Sediment test, 27, 28. 
Semi-hard cheeses, 149-171. 
.Setting, 71. 

Shaw, R. H. (and C. H. Eckles), 7. 
Sheep's milk, 151, 152. 
Sheep's milk cheese, 150. 
Sheldon, J. P., 161. 
Shot-gun cans, 97. 



INDEX 



391 



Size factor in ripening, 263. 
Skim cheese, 89, 361, 366. 

bacteria, 134-147. 

Cheddar, 241-246. 

Neufchatel, 105, 107. 

ripened by molds. 111. 

Soft cheeses, 82-83, 86. 
Solids not fat, 335-337. 
Speed knife, 217. 
Spiro, K., 36, 39. 
Square cream, 109. 
Standards, 359. 
Starter, 42. 

amount to use, 52. 

care of milk for, 47. 

commercial, 43. 

containers for, 45. 

for Brick, 165. 

for Camembert, 121. 

for Cheddar, 189. 

for Neufchatel, 99. 

for Roquefort, 153. 

for Swiss, 279. 

handling, 42-50. 

lot-card for, 53. 

"mother," 47 

natural, 42. 

pasteurization of, 45. 

propagation of, 46-48. 

qualities of, 50. 

score-card for, 51. 
Startoline, 47. 
State brands, 360. 
Steven.son, C, 29. 
Stilton cheese, 161-163. 
Stirred curd cheese, 232. 
Stocking, W. A., Jr., 22, 23, 25. 
Storage of cheese, 103. 
Streptococcus lacticus, 41. 
Streptoihrix-actinomyces group, 21. 
Succinic acid, 254. 
Suzuki, S. K., 247. 
Sweet curd cheese, 236. 
Swiss cheese, 80, 86, 173, 276-288, 
358, 366, 368, 371. 

block, 278. 

breaking, 281. 

composition, 287. 

curing, 283. 



Swiss cheese — Continued. 

cutting, 280. 

drum, 278. 

eyes in, 283-285. 

factories, 276-278. 

making process, 280-283. 

pressing, 282. 

quality in, 286. 

rennet for, 279. 

salting, 283. 

score-card for, 287. 

starter for, 279. 

testing. Chapter XIX, 327. 
Swiss harp, 278. 

Tests, acid, 60, 61. 

Babcock, 327-334. 

casein, 334. 

curd, 26. 

fat, 327. 

fermentation, 26. 

Hart, 334. 

hot-iron, 201. 

lactometer, 335-337. 

moisture in cheese, 337-342. 

rennet, 62. 

sediment, 27, 28. 

solids not fat, 3.35-337. 

Troy's moisture, 337-342. 
Thom, C, 117, 154, 155, 158, 372. 
Thorn, C, and S. H. Ayers, 21. 
Thom, C, and J. N. Currie, 156. 
Thom, C, J. N. Currie, and K. J. 

Matheson, 116, 152. 
Thom, C, and K. J. Matheson, 149. 
Tinfoil wrapping, 145. 
Todd, A., and E. C. V. Cornish, 29. 
Tolstrup, R. M., 91. 
Trappist, 169. 
Trier, 272. 
Troy, H. C, 337. 
Trypsin, 30. 
Twins, 230. 
Tyrein, 35. 

U. S. Census Report, quoted, 317' 

318 to 322. 
U. S. Dept. Agr. Yearbooks, quoted, 

326. 



392 



INDEX 



U. S. Treasury Dept. Hygienic 

Laboratory Bulletin, 22. 
Utensils, 24. 

Valerianic acid in cheese, 136. 

Van Dam, W., 29, 36, 39. 

Van Eyck Machine Co., 98. 

Van Herwerden, M., 36, 39. 

Van Slyke, L. L., 8, 223, 224, 225, 
251, 257, 262. 

Van Slyke, L. L., and A. W. Bos- 
worth, 9, 36, .39, 40, 249. 

Van Slyke, L. L., and D. D. Van 
Slyke, 33. 

Van Slyke, L. L., and E. B. Hart, 
38, 40, 91, 201, 249, 256. 

Van Slyke, L. L., and C. A. Publow, 
310. 

Van Slyke, L. L., and O. B. Winter, 
249. 

Vat, 190. 

Vermont Exp. Sta. Rept., 7. 

Victor curd mill, 208. 

Ward, A. R., 217. 
Washed curd process, 236. 
Water in milk, 8. 
Welsh rabbit, 377. 



Wensleydale, 184. 

Whey, 222. 

Whey butter, 295. 

Whey cheese, 85, 295. 

Whey siphon, 202. 

Whey strainer, 202, 203. 

Whey tank, 301, 303. 

White cheese, 109. 

Williams, Jesse, 313. 

Wilson hoop, 212. 

Wing, Lois W., 25. 

Wisconsin Agr. Law, 13, 347. 

Wisconsin curd test, 26. 

Wisconsin pasteurized Cheddar, 229. 

Wisconsin Sta. Bui., quoted, 7, 8, 10, 

26, 251, 253. 
Working of curd, 102, 135. 
Wuethrich, F., 165. 

Yeasts, 21. 

Yield of. Brick, 169. 

Camembert, 130. 

Cheddar, 226. 

Limburger, 146. 

Neufch&tel (whole milk), 107. 

Swiss, 287. 
Young America, 230. 

Zumkehr, P. 139. 



Printed in the United States of America. 



THE following pages contain advertisements of a 
few of the Macmillan books on kindred subjects 



Butter 



THE RURAL TEXT-BOOK SERIES 
Edited by L. H. Bailey 



By E. S. GUTHRIE 



Professor in the Dairy Department, New York State College of 
Agriculture, Cornell University 



A practical discussion of the general characteristics 
of butter, and of all of the problems connected with its 
manufacture and marketing, together with a brief his- 
tory of the product. Among the topics considered are 
the history of butter ; composition and food value of 
butter ; cleansing and care of dairy utensils ; care of 
milk and cream ; cream separation ; grading milk and 
cream and neutralizing acidity ; pasteurization ; cream 
ripening ; churning, washing, salting and packing 
butter ; flavors of butter ; storage of butter ; market- 
ing ; whey butter, renovated and ladled butter ; mar- 
garine, and testing. 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New Tork 



A Manual of Milk Products 



By W. a. stocking, Jr. 

Professor of Dairy Bacteriology in the New York State College of 
Agriculture at Cornell University 



$2.00 

This is the most recent addition to the Rural Manual 
Series under the editorship of L. H. Bailey. The work 
is intended to serve as a reference book covering the 
entire subject of milk and its products. There are 
chapters on The Chemical Composition of Milk, The 
Factors Which Influence Its Composition, Physical 
Properties, The Various Tests Used in the Study of 
Milk, The Production and Handling of Milk, Butter 
Making, The Cream Supply, Butter Making on the 
Farm, Cheese Making, and the Bacteriology of Dairy 
Products. 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New Tork 



The Modern Milk Problem 



By J. SCOTT MacNUTT 

Lecturer on Public Health Service in the Massachusetts 
Institute of Technology 



With 16 plates and 22 illustrations. Cloth, i2ino, $2.00 

Notwithstanding the fact that the milk problem 
is constantly growing more acute in many parts 
of the United States, no book has thus far ap- 
peared treating, in a brief space, its main aspects 
and stressing the practical and economic as well 
as the sanitary factors involved. The present 
volume is designed to fill this obvious need by 
providing a convenient survey of a perplexing 
subject — not merely for health officials and milk 
inspectors, but also for dairymen and city milk 
dealers, agricultural authorities, legislators charged 
with the framing of milk laws, inquiring consum- 
ers and members of organizations engaged in ef- 
forts to secure better milk supplies, physicians, 
and all others who are interested in the under- 
standing and solution of the milk problem. The 
entire work is essentially practical and valuable 
as a constant reference. 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New York 



Cooperation : The Hope of the Consumer 

Bv EMERSON P. HARRIS 

President of the Montclair Cooperative Society. With an 
Introduction by JOHN Graham Brooks. 

Cloth, 1 2 mo 

The author's purpose has been to discuss cooperative pur- 
chasing, to show why it is desirable, to indicate the evils 
which it reforms, to present the operation of a cooperative 
store and to consider the difficulties which must be overcome. 

The titles of the four parts into which this work is divided 
are as follows : The Failure of Our Middlemanism, Reasons 
and the Remedy, Practical Cooperation, Background and 
Outlook. 



The Marketing of Farm Products 

By L. D. H. weld 



$i.6o 



This book aims to set forth the fundamental principles of 
market distribution as applied to the marketing of agricul- 
tural products. It begins by pointing out the place that 
marketing occupies in the general field of economics, and 
by applying accepted economic principles to the marketing 
process. It then explains the general organization and 
methods of marketing, beginning with marketing at country 
points, and passes on to a description of the methods and 
functions of the various classes of wholesale dealers. After 
descfibing the factors affecting the cost of marketing, illus- 
trated by data concerning the marketing of certain specific 
products, a number of special problems are treated, such as 
price quotations, future trading, inspection and grading, 
public markets, cooperative marketing, etc. 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New York 



